Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

My Department administers pension schemes, which are provided for in legislation, for teaching staff in primary, secondary and community and comprehensive schools. One such provision of these pension schemes is the awarding of benefits under ill health retirement. There is a process in place for administering such applications that involves the completion of two forms. The first form is an application for benefits, which is returned to the pensions unit of my Department for the processing of the application. The second form relates to the member’s medical condition and must be signed by the member and his or her doctor. The doctor must provide a confidential doctor-to-doctor report to accompany the form detailing the member’s diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. This form and report are returned directly to the Department’s OHS provider. As this process is confidential in nature, I cannot comment on the medical evidence submitted by the person concerned or the assessment made by the OHS.

What I can say is that applicants for retirement pension benefit on medical grounds must follow this particular procedure and attend for a medical assessment with the OHS. The decision to approve or reject an application is based on the recommendation of the OHS. Medmark, the current OHS, provides independent medical assessments, ensuring that any decisions about an employee’s fitness to teach are made based on expert assessment.

I understand that the pensions unit of my Department is familiar with the case the Deputy has mentioned and it has been in contact with the person concerned on several occasions. I encourage the person to engage with my officials with a view to making a fresh application for ill health retirement. This will involve a medical assessment. It is important that is part of the process, as I have outlined. I will ask my officials to consider a new application as soon as it has been received

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