Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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115. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason the waiting list for domiciliary care allowance applicants is 14 weeks or more; his plans to improve this waiting time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26337/17]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) claims that require medical and other supporting documentation can take some time to properly assess, particularly as the opinion of one of the department’s medical assessor’s is routinely required.

Increasing numbers applying for DCA have been a feature of this scheme in recent years. In the 4 year period from 2013 to 2016 the number of applications has increased by 54%, from under 5,000 to almost 7,500 per annum.

In addition to the increased volumes, there has recently also been a significant increase in the complexity and length of time required to process applications. This has been impacted by a High Court ruling, following a legal challenge by an un-successful applicant, which places a greater onus on the deciding officer to provide the applicant with more detail of the reasoning used in coming to their decision.

This requirement combined with increased application volumes, which show no sign of diminishing, has impacted negatively on processing times, which currently average 16 weeks. In April 2017, 53% of applications were processed within the 15 week target.

Staffing levels in the scheme are kept under continuous review to ensure the best use of available resources.