Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this topic, which I know is particularly important to people in his neck of the woods. Any person, including a former miner, who has suffered an occupational injury or prescribed occupational disease, is entitled to apply for disablement benefit under the occupational injuries scheme, which was introduced with effect from 1 May 1967. In order to qualify for a payment under this scheme, applicants must show that they were insurably employed at the time they sustained the injury or disease and that it was caused by their occupation at the time. If these conditions are satisfied, applicants are examined to determine whether and to what extent they have suffered a loss of physical or mental faculty as a result of that injury or disease.

In 2010, the then Minister met with miners’ representatives and it was agreed at that meeting that former miners who suffered from the prescribed occupational disease pneumoconiosis, which is particularly associated with mining, would have their applications expedited.Applications for disablement benefit should normally be made within three months of the entitlement commencing. However, many of the applications from former miners concern injuries that occurred up to 50 years ago. Given the passage of time and the lack of witnesses in some instances, investigations into the circumstances surrounding these cases can be difficult and time-consuming, with the result that applications typically are taking much longer to process than we would expect. Where application forms are not completed in full or where medical or other evidence has been requested from applicants, it can take some time to process applications. However, I assure the Senator that the Department is committed to ensuring that all benefit claims are processed as expeditiously as possible and that the scheme is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure that customers are responded to as quickly as possible.

To respond to the Deputy's final request, I advise him that, to date, 565 applications have been received from former coal miners. A total of 209 claims have been awarded, 66 are pending and 290 were refused. Of those 565 applications, 296 were from former Arigna coal miners. A total of 123 of their claims have been awarded, 36 are pending and 137 have been refused.