Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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298. To ask the Minister for Social Protection notwithstanding her replies to previous parliamentary questions, the extent to which the deciding officer in her Department has had sight of the alleged private mutual agreement in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18661/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Under Social Welfare legislation, Deciding Officers are appointed to decide on entitlement to benefit or assistance. In coming to their decision on entitlement, the role of the Deciding Officer is to consider the evidence supplied and from that evidence establish the facts of the case. The Deciding Officer applies the legislation to the established facts.

In this case, the evidence considered by the Deciding Officer included correspondence from both the person concerned and the child’s mother. This evidence indicated that the care arrangements in this case were agreed between both of these parties.

Based on this evidence, the Deciding Officer decided that the care arrangements in place for the child in question were by private mutual agreement between the child’s mother and the person concerned and the child was not therefore deemed to be abandoned as defined in social welfare legislation. As a result, the Deciding Officer disallowed the Guardian’s payment (contributory) claim of the person concerned on 30^thMay 2012.

This decision was appealed by the person concerned to the Social Welfare Appeals Office and the decision of the Deciding Officer was upheld by the Appeals Officer on 15^thMarch 2013. Under social welfare legislation, the decision of an Appeals Officer is final.

If there are new facts or evidence which the person concerned wishes to make available to the Deciding Officer or the Appeals Officer, they should forward it to the Guardian’s payments section, requesting a review of their entitlement.