BackHaving noted an article which appeared in the Irish Examiner on 10 February 2014, the Ombudsman, Mr Peter Tyndall, has decided to issue this statement.
The article was about Domiciliary Care Allowance* (DCA) payments and difficulties being experienced by some applicants in their dealings with the Department of Social Protection. The article highlighted the fact that more families are bringing court challenges against the Department over its refusal to grant them DCA and in many cases are bypassing the Department's appeals system altogether.
The Ombudsman is keen for applicants to be aware that he can examine complaints about this issue. He can examine complaints about the actions of a range of public bodies, including the Department of Social Protection and the Social Welfare Appeals Office. All complaints, including those relating to undue delay in arranging appeal hearings and decisions of Appeals Officers, are dealt with independently and impartially when judging whether the application was dealt with in a fair and reasonable manner. The Ombudsman stressed that complaints should be made to his Office within 12 months of the decision being made. Normally the Ombudsman cannot examine cases that are due before the courts or have been decided upon by the courts. The Ombudsman provides a free service to complainants.
The Ombudsman's Office dealt with 17 DCA complaints in 2013 and is at present dealing with a number of on-going complaints. An example of a complaint which was completed by the then Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly in 2012 and published in her Annual Report is attached.
*DCA is a monthly payment to the carer of a child under 16 with a severe disability that is likely to last for at least 1 year. It is not means tested. The guidelines for DCA state that the payment is not based on the type of disability but on the resulting physical or mental impairment which means that the child requires substantially more care and attention than another child of the same age. This care and attention must be required to allow the child to deal with the activities of daily living. The child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months.
Source: Office of the Ombudsman, Ireland
