Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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453. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she is considering increasing access to or the amount allocated to families in the back-to-school allowance to reflect the increase in the cost of living; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27375/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance 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 the allowance 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. 

Following a review of the scheme the income limits for one parent families were increased this year to bring them in line with the income limits for two parent families, widening the eligibility for that cohort of customers.  The income limits were also increased to ensure that the increases in weekly social protection payments rates introduced in Budget 2022 will not negatively impact on an individual’s entitlement to the allowance.

The rates of payment were increased this year by €10 to €160 for children aged 4 to 11 and to €285 for children aged 12 years and over in second level education.

Applications which fall outside the normal rules of the scheme may be considered for exceptional needs payments under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme by the officers administering this scheme in the normal way.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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454. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department has seen an increase in the number of failed applications for the domiciliary care allowances due to a disability not being appropriately identified through the standard operating procedure assessments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27376/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable in respect of children, aged under 16, who have a severe disability resulting in the need for substantial extra care and attention compared to other children of the same age without that disability.  The child must be likely to require full-time care and attention for at least 12 months.  Eligibility is determined on the additional care required by the child and not solely on the particular disability.

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.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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455. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department has made any changes to the eligibility for the domiciliary care allowance payment to reflect the changes made to the assessment of needs process by the HSE in 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27377/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable in respect of children, aged under 16, who have a severe disability resulting in the need for substantial extra care and attention compared to other children of the same age without that disability.  The child must be likely to require full-time care and attention for at least 12 months.  Eligibility is determined on the additional care required by the child and not on the particular disability.

Before a decision is made on a claim for DCA, the deciding officer forwards the application in its entirety, including all the medical evidence supplied, to one of the Department's medical assessors for their professional opinion on the care needs resulting from the disability.  The deciding officer, having received the opinion of the medical assessor, then examines the application in full before making a decision. 

All medical evidence provided by qualified professionals in regard to the diagnosis of the child's medical condition, the prognosis of the condition and the impact on the child's care needs is carefully considered by both the medical assessor and deciding officer before reaching a decision on

eligibility. 

An applicant may supply evidence, medical or otherwise, and this can include reports from specialists or other professionals who know the child and their individual needs but there is no specific requirement to provide this information.

As part of the Budget 2022 measures, the period of time in which DCA is paid in circumstances where a child up to the age of 16, is hospitalised on a full-time basis for an extended period has increased from 13 weeks to 26 weeks since January 2022.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.