Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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8. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who, having been refused the disability allowance, were successful in their appeals of her Department’s decision to refuse in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024. [17667/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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People with disabilities are among the people most discriminated against in Ireland. People with disabilities battle daily just to achieve basic services from the State. A few weeks ago this Government played the part of champions of carers and people with disabilities, but that zeal has disappeared for some reason after the referendum results. People with disabilities regularly tell me they apply for disability allowance and are initially unsuccessful with their application, but when they appeal, they get their application. This seems to be happening a lot and I think it is important we focus on why that is happening.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The social welfare appeals office is an office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions relating to social welfare payments.

Appeals officers are independent in their decision-making functions. Between 2014 and the end of March 2024, 241,019 disability allowance claims were received by the Department. Those figures are for ten years. Between 2014 and the end of March 2024, 24% of claim decisions or 58,485 disability allowance appeals were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office. Of these 39,658, or 69% were subsequently allowed or partially allowed, either by a deciding officer on review or by an appeals officer. In many cases this was because additional information was provided at the time of appeal that was not available to the original deciding officer.

The Department is aware that many people submit an application immediately on diagnosis, but before full medical reports are received. Submitting an early application establishes a claim date to which payment is ultimately backdated. In 2023, approximately 1% of the decisions made by the Department of Social Protection were appealed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. The total number of disability allowance appeals received annually in the years from 2014 to 2023 ranged from 4,912 to 6,661. That is an average of 5,702 per year over those ten years. From 1 January 2024 to 30 March 2024, 1,467 disability allowance appeals were received. A table giving a breakdown of disability allowance appeals received, appeals allowed or partially allowed and appeals which had revised decisions made by the Department from 2014 to 2023 and from 1 January 2024 to March 2024 is available and we will provide it to the Deputy.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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These are shocking figures. The Minister basically said that since she was elected, approximately 40,000 people with disabilities have applied for disability allowance, been refused, had to appeal the decision and were then successful. She is saying that, for the big chunk of those cases, the initial refusal of the application by the Department was incorrect. These are people with disabilities who are struggling to survive and to get what they are entitled to from the State and in 61% of the refusals the Minister's Department made a mistake.

The Department might say that people with disabilities may not be able to fill the forms properly. Surely it is the Minister's job to make sure there is a system of application that is accessible to people with disabilities. She cannot just blame the people who are making the applications for not having all the facts right or not having done the job properly. This is a serious matter. The Department has been wrong in 61% of applications by people with disabilities.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The figures were for a ten-year period during which 69% of appeals were subsequently allowed or partially allowed. We are not trying to block people from getting their payments. That is not what I am trying to do. That is not true. Look at the statistics. The number of people receiving disability allowance has increased massively in recent years. Slightly more than 100,000 people were getting disability allowance in 2014. Today more than 158,000 people receive it. That is a 50% increase in the number of people receiving the payment. The Deputy is trying to make it sound like we are trying to stop people. We are certainly not doing so. I have spoken to my officials at length about this because I see it in my constituency office as well. The reason a lot of applications are successful on appeal is that additional medical information is provided that was not provided in the first place.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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The Department is blocking people from getting assistance. That is what a refusal is. It is a block. Up to 40,000 people, which is equivalent to the populations of Athlone and Portlaoise combined, have been refused by the Department and then been granted the allowance subsequently. The Minister might blame the people for not having all the information first or not being able to fill the document, but it is the Minister's responsibility to make a document that is accessible to people with disabilities. Some 69% of the refusals were overturned. Imagine the number of people who were refused but did not apply for a review of the decision. There could be thousands of people who honestly, fairly and justly applied, were refused by the Department, did not make an appeal and could have got it. That is a serious question.

It is interesting that before the referendums the Ministers, Deputies Humphreys and O'Gorman, dangled the possibility of future investment for people who are carers and people with disabilities. A referendum or a constitutional amendment was not needed to be able to provide more resources and better systems for carers and people with disabilities. All that is needed is political will. Many people will find it cynical that after the referendums, the interest of the Government in this has completely evaporated.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Before the Minister responds, Deputy Bruton wants to contribute.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Bruton is absolutely right. I also see that in my office. Much of the medical information is not put down. It is on the provision of further medical information that the payment is granted. We have done a lot for carers. A pension scheme has been introduced for long-term carers. The carer's support grant has been increased to its highest ever level. The weekly carer's payment has been increased by €29 in the past three years. Carers were prioritised in all the cost-of-living lump sum payments. I have made significant improvements to the means test, which will mean-----

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Yesterday.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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-----that from June a couple will be able to have weekly earnings of €900 and €50,000 in savings and still qualify for the full carer's allowance payment.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Scrap the means test.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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An interdepartmental group has been set up to examine what further work we can do on the means test. I assure Deputies that I am committed to working with our carers to continue to give them support in carrying out the valuable work they do.