Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the current entitlement in respect of illness benefit or disability allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9462/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The person concerned made a claim for illness benefit from 13 March 2012. According to Departmental records this customer does not have 13 reckonable PRSI contributions paid in the years 2008 to 2012. This is a necessary condition that a claimant must satisfy in order to qualify for payment of illness benefit. The Department subsequently wrote to this customer on 23 May 2012 requesting evidence of any additional PRSI contributions that may have been paid in the relevant years. No reply or evidence of additional reckonable PRSI contributions has been received. The person concerned applied for disability allowance on 24 January 2011. The medical evidence supplied was referred to a Departmental Medical Assessor. It was the opinion of the Medical Assessor that this applicant was not medically suitable for disability allowance. The deciding officer accepted this opinion and disallowed the claim. The person was notified of this decision by letter on 13 April 2011. It is open to the customer to make a new claim for disability allowance and this will be assessed in the normal manner and the person concerned will be notified of the decision in relation to the claim in due course.