Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 280: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons in receipt of disability benefit or allowance at 31 January 2008 and at the same date in the proceeding five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5544/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons whose applications for disability allowance or benefit or similar payments have been disallowed in each of the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5545/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 280 and 281 together.

Disability allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a disability who are aged between 16 and 66 years. The allowance is subject to both a medical examination and a means test. The person must be suffering from an injury, disease, congenital deformity or physical or mental illness or defect which has continued or may reasonably be expected to continue for a period of a year. As a result of that condition the person would be substantially restricted in undertaking work which would otherwise be suitable having regard to the person's age, experience and qualifications.

The attached table shows the number of people in receipt of disability allowance, illness benefit and injury benefit over the past five years. The second table gives a breakdown of the number of claims for those three schemes which were refused each month in 2007, and 2008 to date.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 282: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of applications for respite grants that have been refused in each of the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5546/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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In the last 12 months a total of 13,245 Respite Care Grant claims have been processed by the Department. Details of Respite Care Grant claims refused by month, totalling 1,397 for the 12-month period February 2007 to January 2008 are detailed in tabular form below.