Written answers

Thursday, 2 March 2006

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Social Welfare Benefits

5:00 pm

Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the options available to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8681/06]

Photo of Séamus BrennanSéamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned was awarded disability benefit from 15 February 1996. Her claim was disallowed from 23 February 2004 after she was found capable of work by a medical assessor of the Department. She appealed against the disallowance and she was examined by a different medical assessor who also considered her to be capable of work. Her case was then referred to an appeals officer who upheld the decision to disallow disability benefit. She was notified of this decision on 19 January 2005.

The person concerned claimed unemployment benefit from 23 February 2004 until her entitlement to unemployment benefit was exhausted on 21 May 2005. She signed for unemployment credits until 29 October 2005. No application for disability or unemployment payments has been received since that date. The person concerned would not qualify for payment of disability benefit at this time as she does not have the required number of recent reckonable PRSI contributions. However, she will qualify for the award of credited contributions which could help to qualify her for benefit in the future.

Disability allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under age 66. The disability must be expected to last for a least one year and the allowance is subject to both a medical assessment and a means test. A disability allowance claim form was issued to the person concerned on 28 February 2006. To apply for same, she should complete the claim form and return it to the Department. Her case will then be examined and she will be notified of the outcome accordingly.

In the meantime, if her means are not sufficient to meet her needs, the person concerned should contact the community welfare officer at her local Health Service Executive office who will advise her of her possible entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance.

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 169: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be approved and awarded rent supplement; if his staff will be directed to award rent supplement to people in full-time education and in similar circumstances. [8686/06]

Photo of Séamus BrennanSéamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Rent supplements are available to eligible people through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in determining entitlement in individual cases.

Section 190(1) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 provides that people in full-time education are not normally eligible to receive assistance, including rent supplements, under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Section 190(3) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 and regulations made thereunder provide that in a case where there are exceptional circumstances, supplementary welfare allowance may be granted to a person who would qualify other than for their exclusion under section 190(1). This discretion is aimed at enabling assistance to be provided through the scheme if necessary to people who face an exceptional non-recurring cost which they cannot meet from their own resources. This exceptional needs provision is not intended to circumvent existing standard rules for other schemes. The executive has previously advised that, in its opinion, there are no special circumstances in this case to merit payment of assistance on an exceptional basis.

The position therefore remains the same to that given in my response to a question from the Deputy on 23 February 2006. The executive has advised that in considering her application for rent supplement in her college location, it has thoroughly examined all information available to it in relation to the circumstances of the person concerned and has determined that she is not eligible on the basis that she is a full-time student. It has further advised that this decision has been upheld by the executive's designated appeals officer.

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