Mr. John McKeon:

I will come to that. On the future for the invalidity pension scheme, it was in the programme for Government and the Minister is committed. We are currently working on a consultation paper, or straw man, about a reform of all long-term disability payments. For example, the criteria for disability allowance are different from the criteria for invalidity pension. The arrangements for supporting people in work when they have a disability differ between disability allowance and invalidity pension. We are working on a paper that will go to consultation fairly soon. That would then be the vehicle through which the law might be changed. The committee will certainly have an opportunity to comment on all of that.

Regarding what the Deputy perceives is a change of approach, the Department’s job is not to frustrate people’s entitlement to a benefit. Our job is to try to make sure people get the entitlement to which they are due. That is why there is a review process and we have medical assessors who are expert in assessing the impact of different ailments and illnesses. That is why there is an appeals process; it is not to frustrate it. The fact the Deputy is getting an increasing number of these cases is not that the percentage of these cases has changed. The reality is that the number of claims for these disability and DCA schemes has grown dramatically – exponentially – over the past ten years. We have more than doubled the number of people on disability allowance from when I joined the Department under the Deputy’s ministership back in 2010. We have gone from 4,000 to, I think, 25,000 or 26,000 people on DCA. The number of claims we are dealing with has increased. As the number of claims we are dealing with is increasing year on year by about 5%, obviously, the number of cases that are then refused and the Deputy then sees is increasing. The increase is the increase in volume. It is not a change in attitude; I would absolutely challenge that. It is not a change in attitude.

As I said, we do our best for people. I do not want to comment on specific cases because I do not have the detail. The Deputy outlined some cases and if he wants to send them to me, I will have a look at them.