Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 April 2026
71. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Social Protection the average and the longest waiting times for domiciliary care allowance appeals in Kildare north; whether such appeals are prioritised by the age of the child; whether consideration has been given to expediting appeals in cases involving children under five years-of-age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31273/26]
View answerData in relation to the timeframe for appeals by county is not maintained.
Domiciliary care allowance is a payment for guardians of children under the age of 16. Appeals are not prioritised by the age of the child and consideration is not given to expediating appeals in cases involving children under five years of age. Instead, domiciliary care allowance appeals as a whole are treated as a priority for my Department.
The average processing time for domiciliary care allowance appeals at the end of Q1 2026 is 9.6 weeks.
The average processing time for domiciliary care allowance appeals in 2025 was 16 weeks.
This information will be available on the Social Welfare Appeals Office Annual Report which is due to be published shortly. The average processing time for domiciliary care allowance appeals for 2024 and previous years are available in the Social Welfare Appeals Office Annual Reports at the following website: www.gov.ie/en/social-welfare-appeals-office/collections/news-and-publications-from-the-social-welfare-appeals-office/.
The Chief Appeals Officer continues to monitor processing times and every effort is made to reduce the time taken to process an appeal. However, the drive for efficiency must be balanced with the competing demand to ensure that decisions are consistent and made in accordance with the provisions set out in primary legislation and regulations.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
