Written answers

Thursday, 9 March 2017

Department of Social Protection

Carer's Allowance Eligibility

Photo of Noel RockNoel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael)
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160. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider conducting all reviews of social welfare payments to customers at once rather than over a number of seperate occasions (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12543/17]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has confirmed that this question refers to Carer's Allowance (CA) cases. CA is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has a disability such that they require that level of care.

In order to qualify, applicants must show that they are habitually resident in the State, that their means are less than the statutory limit, that they are providing full-time care and attention and that the person being cared for requires full-time care and attention.

Once claims are in payment, my Department periodically reviews them to ensure that there is continued entitlement. Depending on the circumstances in each case and to make best use of resources, a review may only concentrate on a specific condition of entitlement.

For example, when reviewing the entitlement of a carer who cares for an elderly person with dementia, only the means or provision of care would be reviewed. My department would not review the need of the care recipient for full-time care and attention.

In other cases, a review may be carried out to confirm that full-time care and attention is still being provided to a care recipient by a carer. In such a case there may be no need to review the carer’s means.

Furthermore, a person can at any stage request their own review of entitlement. Normally such a review request is only in relation to the person’s means and my Department would be unlikely to review the other conditions unless there were indications that those conditions were no longer being satisfied.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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