Social welfare Ireland: Five criteria to qualify for newly increased €360 payment that helps parents

Many people are in line for a monthly cash boost in just over two months as a popular social welfare scheme is increased.

The Domiciliary Care Allowance, or DCA, will rise to €360 per month instead of €340 from January 2025.

DCA is a monthly payment for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability. It is not means-tested, so you may qualify for it regardless of your income.

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DCA is not based on the type of disability your child has. Instead, it is based on their level of physical or mental impairment. Your child must need ongoing care and attention, substantially over and above what is usually needed by a child of the same age.

How do you qualify for Domiciliary Care Allowance?

To qualify, the child must have a severe disability that is likely to last for at least 1 year and:

• Be aged under 16 (at 16, the child can apply for a Disability Allowance
• Live at home with the person claiming the allowance for 5 or more days a week. However, there are some exceptions to this
• Meet the medical criteria
• Be ordinarily resident in the State

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

• Provide for the care of the child
• Be habitually resident in the State.

There are certain medical criteria people must meet to be considered eligible. The legislation states that to qualify for Domiciliary Care Allowance a child must have "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".

You can find out more about this here.

This payment is not based on the type of impairment or disease, but on the resulting lack of function of body or mind which means the child needs extra care and attention.

This care and attention must be required to allow the child to deal with the activities of daily living and the child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months.

The Department's Medical Assessor looks at all the following before giving an opinion on whether your child meets the medical criteria:

• The history of the case.
• All medical reports received (your GP fills out a medical report and you should include reports from any relevant specialists).
• Your description of the care and attention required by your child. (The form allows you to state what extra care your child needs under a number of headings.)

The child must live at home with the person claiming the allowance for five or more days a week.

However, it can be paid where this is not possible because the parents are sharing care and live apart, or the child spends part of the week in residential care.

How much is Domiciliary Care Allowance?

The current rate for Domiciliary Care Allowance is €340 per month. There is no restriction on the number of children for whom you may claim DCA.

Therefore, if you are caring for more than one child who qualifies for Domiciliary Care Allowance, you may claim the monthly allowance for each.

Payment is made on the third Tuesday of every month.

You can find out more about Domiciliary Care Allowance here.