Father and son lose appeal over care allowance for child while he was in hospital

The judge noted that the level of care provided to the boy by his parents was not only extremely onerous but appeared, to an extent, to be expected by the hospital.

The domiciliary care allowance is a monthly payment for children under 16 who have severe disabilities and require ongoing care. The Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 provides that the allowance is not payable when a child is resident in an “institution” where care is paid for with public funds. File photo

A father and his severely disabled son have lost their Supreme Court appeal over being refused a domiciliary care allowance for more than two years while the boy was in hospital.

The five-judge court unanimously rejected arguments made under Article 40.1 of the Constitution and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights challenging the Minister of Social Protection’s decision to find the child ineligible for the allowance for the long hospital period.