Domiciliary Care Allowance

Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment for a child with a severe disability.

The payment is not based on the type of disability. It is based on the impact of the disability.

How to qualify

• your child must be under 16
• the mental or physical disability must be severe
• the disability must be likely to last for at least one year
• your child must need ongoing care and attention substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age
• your child must be resident in the Irish State
• your child must live at home with the person claiming the allowance for five or more days a week

NOTE: If your child is in full-time residential care, you are not eligible. If your child is in residential care but is at home for two days or more a week, you may get a half-rate payment. For example, you may qualify if your child attends residential services from Monday to Friday and goes home at weekends.

In addition, the person claiming the allowance for the child must:

• provide for the care of the child
• habitually live in the State

Assessment

After your application is received, a medical assessor reviews the information you provide to decide whether your child meets the medical criteria for Domiciliary Care Allowance, including:

• the history of the case (all the medical reports you provide, including a medical report from your GP and any reports you have from relevant specialists)
• your description of the care and attention your child needs

The assessor will not see your child in person, so it is important to include as much information as possible in your application.

Once the Medical Assessor has given an opinion on the medical eligibility of the child, the case is passed to a Deciding Officer who will make the final decision on the application. A formal decision letter will issue notifying you of the outcome and if successful, details will be provided of the rate of payment and the commencement date including any arrears due. If awarded, payment commences from the calendar month following the month the application form was received.

If your application is not successful, you will be given information about how to appeal the outcome and/or seek a review of the decision.