John Kelly (Labour)

Yet again I could have written the response myself, having been a community welfare officer for 28 years. I do not need to be told by a civil servant who qualifies for what payment. The issue is that despite the fact medical referees have sufficient experience and training in the field of disability and occupational medicine, 50% of their decisions have been reversed by somebody at a higher level.

Another gripe of mine is that if somebody is unhappy about a decision made by a medical referee in regard to a caree, that is, somebody who needs full-time care and attention, that he or she does not need somebody to care for him or her, and the caree seeks an oral hearing, the only person from whom the Department will hear is the applicant. It is not the applicant the Department should be dealing with but the caree. Departmental officials should have the person who needs care and attention sitting in front of them to assess whether he or she actually needs care and attention. Instead, it is the applicant who is hauled before them. They cannot make a determination in that way.

While there is a notion that the transition is smooth where a person moves from illness benefit to invalidity pension, it is not. I am aware of any amount of cases in which people have been in receipt of disability benefit for a long period, but, of late, when they apply for invalidity pension, they are told they are fit for work.

I would appreciate it if the Minister of State sent a strong message to the appropriate Minister in order that we can have these problems rectified.