Written answers

Tuesday, 18 December 2018

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Carer's Allowance Delays

Photo of Lisa ChambersLisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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626. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the length of time reviews on applications for carer's allowance are taking; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53052/18]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result 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.

For entitlement to exist, these conditions must be satisfied on an on-going basis.

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, be it the requirement for full-time care, the provision of full-time care or the means of the carer.

Furthermore, a person can at any stage request a review of their claim where they consider there is a change in their circumstances including a change to their means which could affect their rate of entitlement.

The Department does not maintain statistics on the length of time taken to process reviews, whether these are initiated by the Department or requested by the customer. The time taken to conduct a review is dependent on the type of review being carried out and the information available at the time of the request. In some cases, it may be necessary to refer a claim to a social welfare inspector for an investigation of means or provision of care, this can lead to some reviews taking a longer time to complete than others.

At all times every effort is made to complete the reviews as quickly as possible.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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