Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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469. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if discriminatory elements (details supplied) of the domiciliary care allowance scheme will be addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40586/18]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable to whoever is considered to be the qualified person to receive the allowance. Section 186D of the SW Consolidation Act 2005 defines a qualified person as the person with whom the child normally resides and provides for the care of the child.

For DCA to be payable, a child must be resident with the qualified person for at least 5 days per week as per Section 140C of SI 162 of 2009. There is no provision under the legislation to support the splitting of DCA payment between two parents.

If the child is resident full-time in an institution, such as a hospital, DCA is not payable. However if the child comes home for not less than 2 days and not more than 4 days in any one week, then half rate payment can be made to the qualified person (ie. the person they would be considered as normally residing with if not in the institution). In this case payment is not split, but rather paid at a reduced rate to one person.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.