Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 37:

In page 19, lines 28 to 30, to delete all words from and including "and" in line 28 down to and including "relates," in line 30.

The purpose of amendment No. 37 is to ensure that, in the case of couples, both members of the couple apply for ancillary State support. At present, both members of the couple must request the payment of ancillary State support only where the other member has an interest in the asset concerned. However, this stipulation could give rise to an unintentional administrative burden. This is because in interpreting what constitutes an interest in an asset, the HSE may be obliged to undertake an investigation of title. Such a course of action would delay the applicant in accessing support and would be detrimental from the perspective of administrative efficiency. In the interests of clarity and efficiency for both applicants and administrators, I propose to simplify this section of the Bill in order that an application is always made by both members of a couple. The simplification of this procedure should remove any confusion or ambiguity for applicants to the scheme. This amendment is accompanied by a regulation provision, amendment No. 44, which enables the requirement for both members of a couple to apply for ancillary State support to be waived in certain circumstances. I ask the Deputies to support these amendments.

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