Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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454. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a review of supplementary welfare allowance will be processed for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57669/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Applications for Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs) are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service in the Department.

The purpose of the ENP is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which cannot be met from any other source and which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.

The ENP is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the SWA scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

According to the records of my Department, the person concerned applied for an ENP for assistance with an electricity bill. The claim was disallowed on the basis that no exceptional need had been established. The Designated Person further advised there were alternative options available to the person in the electricity market and also recommended that the person engages with his provider to agree a repayment plan in relation to arrears on his account.

A decision letter issued to the person advising him of the outcome of his application and affording him the option of seeking a review of the Designated Person’s decision.

Determinations made in relation to claims made under Sections 200, 201 and 202 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation Act) 2005, namely allowances-in-kind, ENPs and UNPs, can be reviewed by a SWA Reviewing Officer under Section 323 of that Act.

Following a request, a review of the decision was undertaken. Having examined all points raised in the review including further information received, the SWA Review Officer was unable to find any grounds to overturn the original determination and so the original decision was upheld. A letter issued to the person concerned on 18/11/2022 advising him of the outcome.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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455. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on an application by a person (details supplied) for carer's allowance [57676/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.

An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 17 October 2022.

CA was awarded on 15 November 2022, with effect from 20 October 2022 and the first payment will issue to their nominated Post Office account on 24 November 2022.

Arrears for the period 20 October 2022 to 16 November issued on 15 November 2022.

The person concerned was notified on 15 November 2022 of this decision, the reason for it and of their right of review and appeal.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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456. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when an carer's allowance application will be processed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57679/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.

An application for Carer’s Allowance (CA) was received from the person concerned on 13 October 2022.

The application was referred to a local Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) on 21 October 2022 to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are satisfied.

The inspector interviewed the person concerned on the 7 November 2022 and requested additional documentation on the day of the interview. Once the documentation is received and the SWI has reported, a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

An application for a Carer's Support Grant (CSG) was also received from the person concerned on 19 October 2022.

The Carer's Support Grant (CSG) is an annual payment for carers who look after a person in need of full-time care and attention. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means but is subject to certain conditions.

The CSG application was referred to a local SWI on 08 November 2022. A decison on the CSG application cannot issue until the SWI investigation is completed. Once the SWI has reported, a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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457. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the considerations that her Department is giving to domiciliary care allowance applications in view of the fact that applicants are unable to obtain assessments from the children's disability network teams due to chronic service resourcing issues and lengthy waiting lists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57767/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability and requires ongoing continual or continuous care and attention substantially over and above the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 consecutive months.

While an assessment or diagnosis of a child's specific disability or condition may assist the Department's deciding officers and medical assessors to make an appropriate decision on entitlement and at the earliest date possible, eligibility for DCA is not based on the type of disability but on the resulting medical and additional care needs. The decision process that applies in the consideration of whether a child meets the conditions for receipt of DCA includes the examination of all relevant factors identified as impacting on the child's additional care needs. A completed assessment(s) from a children's disability network team or a diagnosis of a specific disability or condition does not necessarily indicate the level of care required by the child.

Applications for DCA are decided by a deciding officer on a case -by-case basis, while also considering the opinion of a Departmental medical assessor. In addition to the personal details provided on the application form (Dom Care 1), including the signed details from the applicant's GP on this form, the applicant may also provide any additional information or documentary evidence that is relevant to their application, such as medical professional report(s) or a completed assessment report from a children's disability network team (CDNT) if available, but there is no specific requirement to provide this information.

A parent/guardian should apply for DCA once they consider that their child may meet the qualifying criteria for the allowance. It is also open to an applicant to subsequently request a review of any decision and this right is not time limited. If requesting a review of a deciding officer's decision, an applicant may provide any further new information or documentary evidence that was not previously available with the initial DCA application for further consideration.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.