Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

On disability payments and medical evidence based claims, I agree with Deputy Marc MacSharry that a lot is done well in that regard, but there are exceptions which generally are the cases brought to our offices. When I am approached by a person seeking a domiciliary care payment, my first response is that he or she should expect to be refused in the first instance and then receive it on appeal because that has been my experience. Reference was made to the high number of administrative errors. What number of applications are refused in the first instance such that the time spent on that process could be better used? To qualify for a domiciliary care payment, a person is required to provide a significant amount of evidence. I have seen very extreme cases in which the applicants were were refused. In the case of an application by a person whose condition is not going to improve, why is there a need to continuously review the application? In other words, if a person has a condition such as Down's syndrome, spina bifida or is wheelchair bound, on what basis is the view adopted that the condition will improve? Why is it not just accepted that it will not? It does not make sense to me that the Department engages in hounding such a person.

On claims for invalidity pension, I have been told by a number of people that they have been told by the Department that while they might not be able to work as a painter-decorator and so on, they are capable of answering the telephone. I understand people can vary in what they do during their lives, but one of the qualifying criteria for receipt of invalidity pension is that the condition must be existing for at least 12 months. I do not understand the basis on which the continuous review rule applies in extreme cases and how it makes sense from the point of view of the time spent in administering the process.