Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The position the Minister of State outlined is not factual. I telephoned the Department about this issue when the decision was made in the case I raised. Officials informed me that they cannot take into account income from the previous year in making their assessment. The reply provided by the Minister of State does not correspond to the details provided in the letter I received from the woman in question, who is a constituent of the Minister of State. Officials clearly set out in writing that the applicant must provide proof of income for the year in which the baby is born. The problem in this case is that the woman in question cannot have income from 2013 taken into account, which is extremely frustrating. Although she meets the qualifying criteria for the previous two years, she was asked to provide evidence of income for the first 16 weeks of 2014. When she provided an honest answer she was informed she did not meet the qualifying criteria for 2014 and nothing further could be done until January 2015, at which point she can make a full tax return for 2014.