John Kelly (Labour)

I support the call for a debate on local authority rates, an issue I have raised on numerous occasions. It is time we had a look at the rates being charged to small businesses. In the North there is a rates holiday for those wishing to set up a new business. This is the type of idea we should take on board.

I call for a debate on how the medical referees in the Department of Social Protection assess applications for invalidity pension, carer's allowance and, particularly, domiciliary care allowance. I have said consistently that it is obvious there is a change of tack in the way cases are evaluated now as distinct from the past. I listened to the Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, on the radio recently speak about the same issue. She expressed serious concerns about what she has seen - exactly the issues I have raised. She made the point that in the case of carer's allowance, if one seeks an oral hearing, it is not the person cared for who is assessed but the carer who is asked to evaluate whether the person cared for needs to be cared for. The Ombudsman also expressed concern about the domiciliary care allowance where people had been in receipt of the allowance for their children and, while nothing had changed medically with the children, it was decided to withdraw the allowance. The Ombudsman has overturned many of these cases. If 50% of appeals for social welfare are overturned on medical grounds, then 50% of them were incorrectly diagnosed by the medical referees. I call on the Leader for a debate on the way medical referees do their business in the Department.