Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Petition No. 39 of 2023, “Petition for Disability Benefit Support Increase and Eligibility Revision”, was submitted by Mrs. Margarida Boléo. The petitioner wrote to the committee as a concerned citizen and a sufferer of vertiginous syndrome, which severely impacts her ability to work and maintain a livelihood. The petitioner finds herself in a challenging situation because her application for disability benefit has been denied due to the means-tested payment system, primarily because of her husband's income. She implores the committee to reconsider this system and to extend support to individuals like herself who genuinely require assistance for their well-being and quality of life. Furthermore, the rising cost of living in Ireland has made it increasingly challenging for families like hers to make ends meet. The petitioner requests that the committee considers raising the disability benefit allowance to a minimum of €357 per week. She says this adjustment is essential to ensure recipients can afford the basic necessities and maintain a decent standard of living. The secretariat wrote to the Department of Social Protection and there has been a lot of correspondence back and forth. The committee recommends that the correspondence from the Department of Social Protection be forwarded to the petitioner for information. A public consultation for disability allowance and other incomes is open for submissions until 15 December. It may be worth requesting that the Department makes every effort to publicise that before the deadline expires. Again, the committee recommends that the correspondence be forwarded to the petitioner. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Petition No. 42 of 2023, “Get Morahan back in Boyle Celtic", was submitted by Mr. Ciarán Nugent. It concerns a virtual club, Boyle Celtic Football Club, of which the petitioner is a member. However, he was recently removed from the team. He believes that the action of the manager to remove him from this club is unfair and that if he gets enough signatures to support his position, he will be allowed back into the club. The committee recommends that the petition is inadmissible and, therefore, is considered closed because it requests the Dáil to do something other than what it has the power to do and because it is frivolous, vexatious or otherwise constitutes an abuse of the petitions system. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The next matter on the agenda is any other business. Would members like to make any comment?