Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----either in whole or in part. I ask Mr. McKeon to send us a note on that so that we can have it on our records, rather than just approximate figures off the top of the head. There is not a Deputy in this House who does not know of cases where further information is supplied to the appeals office that might not have been supplied to the Department at an earlier date. This is often due to the passage of time because several months have elapsed in the process and there might be new letters from medical consultants that can influence the outcome and so on. One of the contributory factors is the length of time it takes to process cases. Sometimes people do not provide enough information on the first day but they get it together for the appeals office. We understand that.

The second question that is not answered, and I have had several queries on it, relates to the fact that the qualified adult allowance is not mentioned anywhere in the context of the State contributory pension. It is not listed in the scheme. Will Mr. McKeon send us an note on that for information? There is an assumption, and I know it is not correct, that if a person in the house is on the contributory pension, the spouse applies for the qualified adult allowance. If he has the pension – I just put it that way as "him" – she should get the qualified adult allowance. I know the answer is that it is means tested but I want to get that officially so that people will see it. How many of those who apply for the qualified adult allowance do not get it because their income is above the limit? People are shocked because they thought it was automatic and I have met many who were not aware that it is means tested. What other payments that can be attached to a contributory payment are allowances? Is the qualified adults allowance the only one?