Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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1239. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite a domiciliary care allowance for a person (details supplied). [34745/17]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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This lady applied for domiciliary care allowance in respect of her child on the 9th October 2015. The application was not allowed as it was considered that the child did not meet the eligibility criteria for the allowance. A letter issued on 6th January 2016 outlining the decision in this case.

An appeal was lodged against this decision and as part of that appeal process, a review of the decision was undertaken by a deciding officer who upheld the original decision. The application was forwarded to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) for the appeal to be processed and she was advised on the 21st June 2016 that the appeal against the decision had not been allowed.

A request for a further review of the original decision along with additional information on this child’s condition/care needs was received on 10th February 2017. This new information has been forwarded to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors for their professional opinion. Upon receipt of the Medical Assessor’s opinion, the case will be further examined by a deciding officer, who will revise the original decision if warranted. In the interest of fairness to all claimants, reviews are processed in date of receipt order. Currently, it can take over 20 weeks to finalise a request for a review of a decision.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.