Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

334. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of claimants currently on disability allowance and all other disability related payments; the percentage of the working age population this represents; the way this compares with equivalent labour forces in each country of the European Union; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36524/13]

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

The total number of recipients of a disability related payment, including carer’s allowance and carer’s benefit at the end of June 2013 was 290,149. A breakdown of this number by scheme is detailed in the attached tabular statement.

Comparisons at a European level are difficult to present because social protection schemes are organised on a different basis in each EU country. The pension age varies across Europe, which can influence expenditure on disability payments for older age groups. Caring duties are not always recognised as a condition for entitlement to social protection in National systems, and there can be a different balance between direct payments and services from country to country in the disability sector.

The latest estimates of the population from the CSO relate to April 2012. There were 3,041,200 persons in the population aged 15-64 in these estimates, and on this basis the percentage of recipients of illness, disability and caring payments at end of June 2013 is 9.5% of the working age population, or 7.7% when caring payments are excluded.