Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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891. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of carer’s allowance applications that have been refused on means ground only in the past three years in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20930/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers.  This includes ensuring that  decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. 

As the schemes in my Department operate under different criteria, the claims process can vary.  In relation to Carer’s Allowance, a decision is made on all the areas of entitlement at once, and a decision letter is then issued to the customer covering each area of entitlement. 

The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of Carer’s Allowance claims refused on means grounds cannot be separated from the total number of claims refused. I am however informed that claims refused on any grounds for the past three years are available, and the figures are provided in the tabular statement below.