Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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440. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for domiciliary care allowance in each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, by county. [37333/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The numbers of applications received for Domiciliary Care Allowance since 2017 are detailed in the table below.  A breakdown of these figures on a county basis is not available as this information is not routinely collated by the Department.  

I hope this clarifies the  matter for the Deputy. 

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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441. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of refusals for domiciliary care allowance in each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, by county. [37334/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The number of Domiciliary Care Allowance claims refused at initial application are detailed in the table below.  A breakdown of these figures on a county basis is not available as this information is not routinely collated by the Department.  

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. 

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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442. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of refusals for domiciliary care allowance for children with autistic spectrum disorder in each of the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021, by county. [37335/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance is a payment in recognition of the substantial additional care needs of children with a disability as evidenced in the application and supporting documentation. Decisions to award or refuse claims are not based on the diagnosis alone, but on the extent and complexity of the care needs of the child. Each application is assessed by a deciding officer on its merits having had the benefit of the opinion of by one of the Department's Medical Assessors.

While statistics on overall awards and refusals are available, information on awards or refusals in relation to particular medical conditions is not routinely collated.  It should also be noted that children can have multiple diagnoses.  

The scheme is administered centrally for the whole country and medical and other information is not collated on a county basis. 

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. 

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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443. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of domiciliary care applications refused on first application in each year since 2017, by county. [37336/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The numbers of Domiciliary Care Allowance claims refused following initial application are detailed in the table below. A breakdown of these figures on a county basis is not available as this information is not routinely collated by the Department.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. 

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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444. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of domiciliary care applicants who were successful in their applications when their initial refusal was reviewed in each of the years since 2017, by county. [37337/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is administered centrally for the entire country, and as a result statistics for applications and reviews processed are not collated on a county by county basis. The available figures, which are from 2018, for successful reviews carried out by DCA section are outlined in the table below.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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445. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the percentage and number of successful domiciliary care applications who were successful after an oral review in each of the years since 2017, by county. [37338/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. 

I understand that the Deputy has clarified that the information he is seeking is in relation to the number of domiciliary care applications which were successful after an oral appeal hearing in each of the years since 2017. The table below sets out that information. 

The Social Welfare Appeals Office does not collate the requested data in county format and, therefore, a breakdown by county is not available.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. 

Domiciliary Care Allowance appeals decided by Appeals Officers

Oral Hearing outcomes 2017 to end of June 2021

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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446. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the parents of children with disabilities and in receipt of a disability payment are excluded from the back to school clothing and footwear allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37380/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn.  The scheme operates from June to September each year.

The allowance is payable in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid and eligible children between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid. 

To qualify for BSCFA, a person must meet a number of conditions namely: 

- The child must meet the age criteria. 

- The applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and getting an increase in that payment for the qualified child (except in certain circumstances) in the period 1 June to 30 September. 

- The assessable income for the household must be within prescribed limits.

- The applicant and the child (or children) in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State. 

Parents who satisfy all the above conditions will qualify for the BSCFA. 

Parents whose children are in receipt of social protection payments in their own right are not entitled to  an increase in their weekly social protection payment in respect of the children concerned and, accordingly, do not meet the qualifying conditions for the BSCFA payment.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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447. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a carer’s allowance will be granted to a person (details supplied) following appeal. [37401/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that two appeals by the person concerned were registered in that office on 9 April 2021 and 3 June 2021 respectively.  It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection.  Those papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 4 May 2021 and 24 June 2021 respectively and the cases were referred to an Appeals Officer on 14 May 2021 and 24 June 2021 respectively.

The Appeals Officer will make summary decisions on the appeals based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral hearing. Hearings are currently being conducted online or by telephone. Due to the current level of Covid-19 restrictions in-person oral appeal hearings have been suspended.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.

 I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.