Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 340: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will include chronic illnesses of miners under the occupational injuries benefit scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43914/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Occupational Injury Benefit scheme operated by the Department provides entitlement to benefit for persons suffering from certain prescribed diseases which are listed in the legislation and where that person has contracted that disease in the course of their employment.

Where a person has contracted one of the diseases listed in the legislation, benefits are payable if they were employed in an occupation which is specifically prescribed in relation to that disease. In addition, benefits may be payable if the claimant can show that the disease was contracted through an employment not specifically prescribed in relation to that disease.

Employment under a contract of service as a miner is insurable for occupational injuries benefit under the Social Welfare Acts. Miners who are unable to work due to an accident arising from their employment may be entitled to occupational injury benefit for the first 26 weeks of their claim. If their incapacity extends beyond that period they may receive illness benefit or invalidity pension, subject to meeting the qualifying conditions for these payments. Miners may also be entitled to disablement benefit under the occupational injury scheme.

Disablement benefit is a compensation payment specifically for those who suffer a loss of physical or mental faculty as a result of an accident at work or a disease prescribed in legislation that they contracted at work. Medical assessments are undertaken in all such cases to determine the degree of disablement, which is calculated by comparison of the state of health of the applicant with the norm for a person of the same age and gender.

I understand that the Deputy's concerns lie with the fact that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is not amongst the specific diseases specified in the legislation governing entitlement to Disablement Benefit under the Occupational Injury Benefit scheme.

Following a careful examination of the matter, it has been found that it would be inappropriate to specify COPD as a prescribed illness for the purposes of determining entitlement to Occupational Injury Benefit. COPD is a common clinical condition which is not specifically linked to a particular occupation. It is not possible to establish a causal link between coal mining (or indeed, any other occupation) and the experience of COPD.

I should point out that the current position is that where miners develop pneumoconiosis, which is a prescribed disease, as a result of their occupation, then Occupational Injury Benefit is awarded by the Department. Persons claiming benefit in such cases are referred to a Consultant Respiratory Physician in the first instance for an examination and report. This examination consists of a clinical assessment and pulmonary function testing. The latter is a standardised test that establishes the extent of lung malfunction irrespective of the specific medical condition giving rise to that malfunction. Disablement Benefit is awarded on the basis of the consultant's objective report, including the results of the pulmonary function testing. I should mention also that if COPD is present in such a case, and it can be reasonably linked to exposure to coal dust, the disablement award will reflect this.