Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister spoke about the policy as it is now. In the social welfare appeals office decision 2022476, which is dated 20 January 2023, the appeals officer states that while test cases may have been used in the past, they were used in very specific and limited circumstances. That is not terribly long ago - it is about a year and a half ago. While the Department may not currently be using tester sample cases, it is clearly an acknowledgement they have been used in the past. When were test cases last used by the appeals office or by the Minister’s own Department?

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