Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004. The effect of the condition is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere would not normally be entitled to social welfare assistance or child benefit payments on arrival in Ireland.

The reference from the guidelines quoted by the Deputy does not mean the habitual residence condition does not apply to returning Irish emigrants. Rather its purpose is to clarify that, once satisfied, HRC can apply from the date of return. Irish nationals returning to live here on a permanent basis should experience no difficulty in demonstrating that they satisfy the requirements of the HRC. I have no statistical evidence of a significant increase in the numbers disallowed on the grounds of not being habitually resident for claims made by returning Irish emigrants. My Department will review cases brought to its attention.

Under social welfare legislation, decisions on all aspects of claims are made by statutorily appointed deciding officers. Each case received for a determination on the HRC is dealt with in its own right and a decision is based on application of the legislation and guidelines to the individual circumstances of each case. Since the introduction of the condition, 144 staff at local offices have been trained on habitual residence decisions and training has been provided to approximately 1,000 former community welfare staff who are now on the staff of my Department.

In June this year, new national and international HRC guidelines were produced, taking into account recent developments in case law. The Department also published a supplement which gives example scenarios of how the condition is applied. These guidelines have been published on the Department's website and circulated to all relevant staff within the Department. The updated documents make the guidelines clearer and more user friendly for staff and customers alike. An applicant who disagrees with the decision on a case has the right to request a review of that decision and-or appeal to the social welfare appeals office.

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