Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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385. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm if the medical assessors employed in her Department to assess certain social welfare benefit applications are adequately qualified to adjudicate on applications for disability benefit when the applicant is suffering from a mental health related disability; if she will detail the way many such assessors are appropriately qualified at present; if it is her intention to recruit more such assessors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25544/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Illness benefit is a payment for insured people who cannot work due to illness and who satisfy the pay related social insurance conditions. The benefit is paid weekly, in arrears, on receipt of required medical certification signed by the customer’s general practitioner. Medical Assessors are fully qualified and experienced practitioners who provide a second opinion to that of the person’s own doctor. Their assessments conform to the ethical conduct and behaviour guidelines of the Irish Medical Council.

They are required to be medical practitioners who are on the general register of medical practitioners while holding an appointment. They must have at least six years satisfactory experience in the practice of medicine since registration. Many of the Medical Assessors have specialist post-graduate qualifications and all have received special training in human disability evaluation. They also have special training in eligibility assessment.

There are currently twenty two Medical Assessors, including the Chief Medical Advisor and Deputy Chief Medical Advisor, who conduct medical assessments across a wide range of the Department's schemes including Illness Benefit. Of these, six have post-graduate qualifications in the area of mental health, such as MRCPscyh and Dip Clinical Psychiatry. They also have extensive clinical training and experience in psychiatry together with membership of recognised professional bodies such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists London and the College of Psychiatry Ireland.

The Medical Assessors have an on-going commitment to continuing medical education to ensure that standards are maintained and enhanced. The Medical Assessors also work in a collegiate way to ensure that best practice and professional expertise is shared and applied across all of the cases that are reviewed by them. This includes daily case conference meetings and a medical research unit has been established to actively engage in the update of the body of medical knowledge and evidence based practice. As a result of a recent recruitment campaign for Medical Assessors, seven were recruited of which two have mental health qualifications - MRCPsych. Further recruitment of Medical Assessors is underway.