Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)
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I wish to establish how many Arigna miners who suffered work-related illness have received compensation to date and how many of those who have applied have yet to receive compensation. In 2010 the National Coal Miners Group secured agreement that the Department of Health would extend disablement benefit to former miners suffering from the prescribed occupational disease pneumoconiosis, commonly known as black lung disease. Since this review was established in 2010, when I strongly lobbied on behalf of the coal miners, hundreds of miners have applied for disability arrears under this scheme. This does not just apply to Arigna but also to those who worked in the Castlecomer, Ballingarry and Rossmore mines. The Arigna mine is adjacent to the three areas of north Roscommon, Leitrim and south Sligo.

I pay tribute to the former Minister, Deputy Eamon Ó Cuív, for his work with the cross-party committee. He was very helpful in ensuring these miners were included and we have worked very hard together. Many of these men were formerly Arigna miners and, unfortunately, they have suffered severe health-related illnesses due to working long hours in the mines. As one can imagine, they had to work in very difficult conditions underground, with resulting health consequences. Legislation, such as that in place in the UK, was not in place here to protect these miners.

I understand that, to date, over €1 million in State disablement benefit arrears has been paid out to former miners nationwide, almost half of which has been paid to Arigna miners. The Minister might confirm these figures and also outline to the House how many applicants are still awaiting moneys and how many applications have still to be processed, if any. I hope no applicant is currently facing avoidable delays. At one stage, the official average waiting time between submission of application and receipt of arrears was six months, and longer in many cases. At this stage, sufficient staffing resources should be in place in the disablement benefit section of the Department to ensure any outstanding claims are expedited.

Recognition of the plight of the miners would not have come except for the sterling work of many people, including former Roscommon county councillor, Charlie Hopkins, who became a very strong advocate of the National Coal Miners Group. I want to pay tribute to Mr. Hopkins, the National Coal Miners Group and all who have campaigned on the miners' behalf. Living only a short distance from Arigna in the vicinity of north Roscommon, south Sligo and Leitrim, I know many of the men who worked hard in the mines all their lives to provide for their families. I want to recognise their vital contribution to the local economy for many years.

I hope all those who still meet the criteria under the scheme will receive payment as soon as possible.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Feighan for raising this important issue. Disablement benefit is one of the payments available from my Department under the occupational injuries scheme and may be payable as a single lump sum or regular pension, depending on the extent of the injury or effect of the disease. Eligibility is not limited to miners or to any particular occupation. It is a social insurance benefit and, therefore, any person may qualify for it if they work, or worked, and pay, or paid, PRSI at class A, B, D, J or M, and lose physical or mental ability because of an accident at work, a commuter accident on a direct route between home and their workplace or a prescribed disease contracted as a result of their work. The level of payment depends on the assessed degree of loss of physical or mental faculty. A prescribed disease is a disease that has developed because of the type of work a person does and also includes any condition resulting from this disease.

Since 2010, my Department has received a total of 247 claims for disablement benefit from former Arigna miners in respect of a variety of diseases and injuries. Of these, 89 have been awarded, 81 were found to be ineligible and 77 are still under investigation. In regard to the total of 81 cases that were found to be ineligible, some of the common reasons for ineligibility are, for example, claims for occupational asthma which have not been made within the statutory limit of ten years of leaving the relevant employment, and, similarly, in respect of occupational deafness, the claim must be made within five years of leaving the relevant employment. In addition, former miners who ceased mining employment prior to 1 May 1967, when the legislation for occupational injuries came into effect, are not covered under the scheme for injuries or diseases originating before that date. In a majority of the total of 77 outstanding cases, my Department is waiting for additional information or evidence to be supplied by the claimant in support of their claim. A small number are awaiting a medical assessment by the Department's medical assessor. My Department will do all it can to process these claims through to conclusion as quickly as possible.

Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the response. I am concerned that the small number of cases awaiting assessment by the medical assessor would be dealt with as quickly as possible and that the Department has enough staff to deal with the applications. These were hardy men who worked in very difficult times and who provided for their communities through the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. This work-related black lung disease has overwhelmed their health. To see men coming to meetings with respiratory diseases is horrific. I believe they are thankful for the work that has been done so far and they are hopeful that this work will continue.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I again thank the Senator for raising this important issue. As I said, 77 cases are outstanding. In some cases, we are awaiting additional information and, in others, it is our delay, if one likes, because the medical assessment has not happened yet. A new chief medical officer has been appointed to the Department in recent weeks, Dr. Max Hills, and we have recruited nine additional medical officers. While it is hard to recruit doctors at the moment, not only in the health service but also in social protection, nine have come through interview and although they have not all accepted the post yet, we hope they will. I can assure the Senator these cases will be prioritised.

I had the opportunity to visit Arigna many years ago, accompanied by Councillor John McCartin, and Councillor Charlie Hopkins may have been with us as well. It is a fascinating place and a very interesting part of our industrial history, and particularly interesting to see how mining was done in those days. They really were hardy men. It was old-fashioned mining where the miner would effectively climb into a crevice with a hammer and start to dig into the coal seam. It is also a very important place for our political history because it was one of the few places where the red flag flew in the 1920s, under the Arigna Soviet, which was established for a period at that time - a very controversial thing to do in 1920s Ireland. That is not discussed in great detail in the museum there, although perhaps that has changed since I visited. I thought it would be an interesting addition to the visitor facility. I would advise Senators who have not had a chance to visit Arigna that it is really worth a visit.