Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

341. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if an application for funding under the treatment benefit scheme will be processed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick. [18268/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Eligibility for treatment benefit is based on the person concerned fulfilling certain PRSI requirements. A person can either qualify on their own PRSI, or, if they are considered financially dependent, on their qualified spouse’s PRSI. The person concerned does not qualify in her own right, while her late husband was not qualified under the social insurance scheme at the time of his death (1976). As a result, she does not qualify for assistance under this Department’s treatment benefit scheme. In these circumstances, it is recommended that the person concerned contact her local HSE office for advice on any benefit she may be entitled to under their audiological scheme.