Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives of the Carers Association, the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Department of Social Protection for their attendance. I welcome the holding of this meeting which presents a great opportunity for members. It is great to see my colleagues all going through the same issues and I back absolutely everything that has been said. People with a disability have enough obstacles to face in assessing everything from housing, social welfare payments, medical cards, resources, education and therapies and many of the forms present further worry and obstacles. Ms Catherine Cox who is representing the Carers Association has made the valid point that there must be clear communication with the applicant on what is needed to make the most complete application, as far as possible, to the Department. People often approach me to tell me they applied for an allowance and then waited until they were refused before coming to me. When I ask what they submitted and what they included in their application, they reply that they filled in the form and answered all of the questions asked. When one sees the part about submitting extra reports, unless people are told specifically to include extra consultant or GP reports, many will decide to hold back the information until it is requested.

The point has been hammered home today about the number of disability allowance applications that have been refused. As has been noted, it amounted to almost half of such applications made in 2014. Of 27,608 disability allowance applications, 13,732 were turned down on the basis of the qualifying criteria on initial assessment. That is a huge number which I, too, question. I reiterate that better communication is definitely essential.

Much of the confusion could be done away with if information regarding additional documentation was made available. The DFI raises a valid concern regarding the domiciliary care allowance. I have seen the transition from it to disability allowance result in difficulties. I know of one parent last year who lost her carer's allowance, a payment she had received from the birth of her child. The system is confusing for everybody, in particular when a child's situation has not changed from the last day of him or her being 15 years of age to the first day of him or her being 16 years of age. It is a major issue. When people are applying for a disability allowance where they used to qualify for domiciliary allowance once they turned 16 years of age, there now seem to be obstacles for other people trying to qualify for disability allowance.

I take the point that the Department of Social Protection said it does engage with different departments and groups. I would propose that visits are made to special schools. I have experience of them. Many parents whose children attend such schools find through word of mouth or remarks in class that when their children reach 16 years of age they can apply for benefits. I have been amazed at the number of queries I have received in the past two years from people who were not aware of what they were entitled to. It has been said that the information is on websites and available from Citizens Information, but we are talking about a cohort of people who are tending to family members for up to 24 hours a day. Such people may not have the time or opportunities to sit down and source information on everything. A very efficient way of getting the point across would be to provide information for the parents of children, in particular those in special schools or classes within mainstream schools whom we know will be entitled to disability allowance.

When the Department of Social Protection said it regularly engages with GPs, what kind of communication takes place? Is it done by letter or are there formal information evenings for GPs? Deputy Ó Snodaigh raised a very valid point. We all have experience of situations where there is a delay in getting reports or people cannot get reports because a GP is charging €15 for a report and a person cannot pay until he or she receives money at the end of a week. It is horrific that people are put through such a system and made to jump through all of the hoops.