Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

Does the Minister accept that there is a specific problem in respect of medical evidence? Most Members regularly come across the problem at constituency clinics of people with substantial medical difficulties who submit medical evidence but are refused the payment for which they are applying. The figures from the appeals office bear this out. Only 25% of appeals relating to disability allowance and only 15% of appeals relating to illness benefit were disallowed. The invalidity pension and injuries benefit figures are similarly poor. The issue of how medical evidence is viewed by officials of the Minister's Department and medical officers is a real one. I ask the Minister to examine this situation again, given the poor performance figures I have highlighted. This is a matter of concern to many people who have serious injuries or other medical problems. They are often subjected to excessive hardship by being asked for additional evidence from their medical practitioners and obliged to go through the appeals process. Hardship is imposed on people who already have medical problems. I ask the Minister to examine this area.

See this speech in context