Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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465. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a domiciliary care allowance for a person (details supplied); and when a decision will be made in relation to same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40662/19]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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An application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on the 9th May 2019. The application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 12th July 2019 setting out the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance and outlining the entitlement to seek a review of the decision or appeal it.

An appeal was registered by the Social Welfare Appeals Office on the 31st July 2019. As part of the appeals process, the application including any additional material provided will be re-examined by a departmental Medical Assessor and a deciding officer. The person concerned will be notified in writing once the review has been finalised. Appeal reviews are currently taking approximately 12 weeks to process.

If the review is unsuccessful, a submission will be prepared and forwarded to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office for consideration by an Appeals Officer. In that case, the Social Welfare Appeals Office will contact her directly about the outcome of the appeal.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.