Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 120: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on her proposal to abolish disabilty allowance for 16 and 17 year olds and to cut the payment to 18 to 23 year olds which she had paused; if the advisory group has reported to her on this issue; if so, the nature of their recommendation and if not when she expects such a report; her plans regarding the proposal; and if she intends to publish the full report. [28036/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Budget 2012 proposals relating to disability allowance have been referred to the independent Advisory Group on Integrating Tax and Social Welfare, which is chaired by Ms. Ita Mangan.

The Group is considering two measures: increasing the minimum age for new claimants from 16 to 18 years of age with a corresponding extension in the age of entitlement for domiciliary care allowance from 16 to 18 years of age, and introducing lower age-related payments for new disability allowance claimants aged from 18 to 24 years.

The review of the disability allowance scheme, published in November 2010, recommended increasing the qualifying age to 18 years. The review noted that the payment of disability allowance at age 16 carries with it the risk of creating a dependency on social welfare from a very young age. Similarly, the purpose of the proposal to align disability allowance rates for new claimants aged 18-24 with jobseeker allowance rates was intended to discourage the development of a welfare dependence at an early age and to avoid the creation of disincentives to young people to taking up opportunities for education, training and employment.

I am conscious that these measures gave rise to serious concerns about the impact on families of people with disabilities, most notably in the case of families of children and young adults with profound disabilities and these very real concerns are being taken into account by the independent Advisory Group.

It is envisaged that the review will be completed by September 2012 and, at that stage, together with my Government colleagues, I will reflect carefully on the findings of the Advisory Group.