James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a pre-retirement pension ceased in April 2012 in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7674/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The person concerned was in receipt of Pre-Retirement Allowance (PRETA) and her payment inadvertently stopped in April 2011. She was issued a yearly review form in order to establish if there was any change in her circumstances and she returned the form, as requested, in March 2011. However, due to a clerical error, it was not updated on her computer record and as a result her payment stopped on 5 April 2011.

No further contact was received from her until 23 January 2013 when a phone call was received to clarify the reason why her entitlement to PRETA had ceased.

As a result of the phone enquiry, a Social Welfare Inspector made a home visit to the customer. In order to determine her entitlement to PRETA, she was requested to furnish a number of documents. To date, the documents have not yet been received. When the documents are provided, the Inspector will complete a report and the file will be returned to the Local Office where a deciding officer will issue a determination.

Consideration will be given to restoring her payment back to April 2011 based on the information she has been asked to supply to the Social Welfare Inspector.