Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010
|
Domiciliary care allowance — amendment. |
26.— (1) Section 186B (inserted by section 15 of the Act of 2008) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following definition: | |
“ ‘medical assessor’ means an officer of the Minister who is a registered medical practitioner;”. | ||
(2) The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following section for section 186C (as amended by section 19 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 ): | ||
“186C.— (1) A person who has not attained the age of 16 years (in this section referred to as the ‘child’) is a qualified child for the purposes of the payment of domiciliary care allowance where— | ||
(a) the child has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age, | ||
(b) the level of disability caused by that severe disability is such that the child is likely to require full-time care and attention for at least 12 consecutive months, | ||
(c) the child— | ||
(i) is ordinarily resident in the State, or | ||
(ii) satisfies the requirements of section 219(2), | ||
and | ||
(d) the child is not detained in a children detention school. | ||
(2) A medical assessor shall— | ||
(a) assess all information provided to him or her inrespect of an application for domiciliary care allowance, and | ||
(b) provide an opinion as to whether the child satisfies paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1). | ||
(3) In determining whether a child satisfies paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1), a deciding officer shall have regard to the opinion, referred to in subsection (2)(b), of the medical assessor.”. |