Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Some 180 PCB claimants are in receipt of the living alone allowance. This allowance is paid at the same percentage as PCB. Some 13 claimants have a 100% PCB weekly entitlement while 58 claimants have a 75% PCB weekly entitlement and 109 have a 50% weekly entitlement. Letters issued to all 180 throughout June 2023 informing them that PCB was not a qualifying scheme. It is now clear that PCB customers should retain their living alone allowance on a pro ratabasis when moving from invalidity pension and that these letters should not have issued. The Department will write to the customers concerned informing them that their payments will not be affected. The gentleman Deputy Ó Laoghaire has spoken to is one of those people. We will be sending him a letter. I hope that will resolve the matter. It genuinely was an administrative issue. In fairness to the Department, these things rarely happen but it did happen on this one occasion. Once it was realised that an error had been made, it was corrected straightaway.

See this speech in context