Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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384. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide figures relating to the number of applications for disability benefit in 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013 broken down by successful and unsuccessful applications; if she will indicate for each year the proportion of refusals which were made for applicants suffering from a mental health related disability and a physical disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25543/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Illness benefit claims are submitted to the Department following the customer’s consultation with their doctor. These claims are then processed by deciding officers of illness benefit branch. The question of the nature of the incapacity does not arise at the application stage of an illness benefit claim. Applications are allowed or refused primarily based on the contribution record of the customer concerned. Details of illness benefit claims registered, allowed and disallowed for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 (to 30/4/13) follow.

Illness Benefit Claim data for years 2011, 2012, 2013 (up to 30/04/2013)

Note on Table - It should be noted that the number of claims registered in a year will not equal the number of claims allowed + disallowed in the same year as a number of claims will cross annual boundaries and also a number of claims may be withdrawn.

In relation to distinguishing between physical and mental health incapacities, this is statistically difficult. Illness benefit claims on the Department’s ISTS IT system hold a single “certified cause of incapacity” as reported by the customer’s general practitioner. This is the primary condition which is initially diagnosed by the primary health care provider. However, a significant number of patients may have associated co-morbidities where whilst the certified cause of incapacity may well be the primary condition, it is the associated co-morbid conditions put together that render the person incapable of work. For example, patients with chronic physical disabilities associated with pain and physical ailments, may well go on to develop mental health conditions of anxiety and depression, and while they may well be physically able for a degree of functioning capacity, their mental health condition may now be the incapacitating factor. As a result it is not possible to prepare statistics which distinguish between mental health and physical conditions as the two can be and are interlinked.