Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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307. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who applied for the domiciliary care allowance annually between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2021, inclusive; the number of applications that were successful; the number that were appealed; and the number that were successful on appeal in tabular form. [25578/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment for a child, aged under 16 with a severe disability who requires ongoing (continual or continuous) care and attention, substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. The child is likely to require full-time care and attention for at least 12 months.

The Following table sets out the number of Domiciliary Care Allowance applications received in the years 2016 to 2021, along with the numbers awarded and disallowed:

The number of claims awarded or disallowed in any given year do not necessarily relate to the applications received during that year. For example, claims received at the end of one year are likely to be decided in the following year.

The following table sets out the number of Appeals for Domiciliary Care Allowance for the years 2016 to 2021, with a breakdown of the Appeals allowed.

The number of DCA applications continues to increase. Applicants are encouraged to provide as much detail as possible at application stage to ensure all information is available to the Deciding Officer before the initial decision is made.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.