Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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10. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason an expert report described by an assistant principal officer as significant medical evidence was not acted upon, considering it corroborated the information supplied to the teacher by an employee in the occupational health service, OHS, service (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58433/25]

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to ask the Minister about a case that affects a teacher in my constituency. I am reluctant to go into too much detail. I will await the Minister’s response before I pose supplementary questions.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for that response. At least by her response she is leaving the door open. It is a matter now and I will relate that to the individual to suggest that the person should make a fresh application and follow the procedure. I wish to read into the record that the board of management of the particular school made the decision regarding the granting of critical illness provision, CIP, on the basis of management discretion where exceptional circumstances existed.

Appendix B of Circular 0054/2019 was used to assist the board in making its decision. The Minister mentioned the Medmark medical criteria for the granting of a CIP, but this was done by the management on the basis of exceptional circumstances. I would have thought at the time the decision was taken, on 15 December 2020, that it would have progressed quickly after that. For GDPR reasons, I will not go into any detail now on whether the Minister is able to do that. I presume there are other facts that relate to this person who has problems with dressing, meal preparation, use of technology, social and sleep. There are so many. It is possibly the worst that I have had experience of in all my years here. I will take the Minister at her word. I will recommend that a fresh application be submitted. I hope, when it is submitted, that it will be processed as expeditiously as possible to try to bring this matter to a conclusion.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I will not go into detail. As the Deputy said, I do not think it would be appropriate to do so in the Chamber. The Department is aware of the case. There is obviously a very clear, independent and separate process that has to take place. I will outline that. The OHS provides employers with the occupational health advice in relation to employees. That applies not just to teachers but to SNAs and other specific non-teaching staff to assess whether they are medically fit for work. It incorporates pre-employment health assessments, it looks at sickness, absent referrals, assessments of medical fitness for work, ill-health retirement assessments and it considers whether a teacher is permanently unfit to teach. There are a number of criteria that it has to take into consideration, including the presence of a disabling illness, the prospect of future improvement or recovery, permanent and total disability, restricted functional capacity, treatment options fully explored and various other elements. While a person may apply and be successful in one instance, that is not to say that he or she cannot apply on the basis that circumstances change. It is important, if there is a reapplication, that a medical assessment has to be provided with it. I encourage the individual in question to reengage with the Department and to reapply under the grounds I have set out.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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When this application is resubmitted, will it be assessed by the same officials? I am not casting any aspersions because I do not know who the officials are, but I suggest that the Minister recommend that a fresh pair of eyes process the application, rather than the same individuals. If it is the same individuals, they may take up the same entrenched position. My interest, and I am sure the Minister's interest, is to ensure this particular teacher gets a fair hearing. I hope the outcome will be a positive one.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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It is important to stress that every person gets a fair hearing. The application is made. Medmark, as the current OHS, provides independent medical assessments. Any decisions that are made on foot of those recommendations are based on expert assessment. This is not about any individual taking a particular view. There is an independent medical assessment that has to be provided. It is based on that recommendation that any decision is taken. A person's circumstances can change and in that context, if the individual in question wanted to make a new application, it could be considered if the circumstances had changed.