Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The figures were for a ten-year period during which 69% of appeals were subsequently allowed or partially allowed. We are not trying to block people from getting their payments. That is not what I am trying to do. That is not true. Look at the statistics. The number of people receiving disability allowance has increased massively in recent years. Slightly more than 100,000 people were getting disability allowance in 2014. Today more than 158,000 people receive it. That is a 50% increase in the number of people receiving the payment. The Deputy is trying to make it sound like we are trying to stop people. We are certainly not doing so. I have spoken to my officials at length about this because I see it in my constituency office as well. The reason a lot of applications are successful on appeal is that additional medical information is provided that was not provided in the first place.

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