Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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19. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will direct her Department to catalogue information on the number of returning Irish emigrants who applied for but were refused a social welfare payment on the basis of not fulfilling the habitual residency condition. [25719/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The information requested by the Deputy is not available and there are no plans to capture these data. Habitual residence is just one element of social welfare claim conditions that must be satisfied and applicants must also satisfy the other conditions to receive a payment. Each case received for a determination on the HRC is dealt with in its own right and a decision is based on application of the legislation and guidelines to the particular individual circumstances of each case. An Irish national returning to live here on a permanent basis should experience no difficulty in demonstrating that they satisfy the requirements of the HRC.