Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

In general, the social welfare system processes payments from the age of 18. The minimum age limit of 16 was established in 1953 as a qualifying condition for the disabled person's maintenance allowance and the age limit was maintained when that scheme was replaced by the disability allowance scheme in 1996.

The review of the disability allowance scheme published in November 2010 recommended increasing the qualifying age to 18 years. The review noted that the payment of disability allowance at age 16 carries with it the risk of creating a dependency on social welfare from a very young age and can generate disincentives for people to take up education, training or employment opportunities. A study conducted on the impact of the payment of the allowance from age 16 on retention rates in second-level education indicated that it would, at a minimum, act as a negative factor if a path out of education was being considered.

The payment of the allowance at such a young age also gives rise to issues relating to the control and use of the payment, about which views have been expressed by parents. In some circumstances, parents and guardians will be the financial agents for people with disabilities in the 16 to 18 age group, and the income may effectively be regarded as household income rather than as an income support for the individual concerned. Equally, there are issues with regard to the capacity of some vulnerable 16 year old people with disabilities to manage funds of this type. The question also arises as to whether it is appropriate, in terms of equity of treatment of all social protection recipients, to pay disability allowance at age 16 but other means-tested working-age schemes at age 18.

While cognisant of the findings of the review, I am conscious of the concerns raised some years ago when a proposal to increase the age limit to 18 was introduced and subsequently withdrawn by a previous Minister in my Department. Notably, there was an issue with regard to the expectations of families that additional income support would arise once their children had reached the age of 16. I will consider all of the issues involved carefully before reaching any decisions on this sensitive matter.

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