Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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183. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the annual number of persons refused disability allowance on the grounds of insufficient medical evidence due to an unclear diagnosis between 2011 and 2014. [3852/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Disability allowance (DA) is a payment for persons with a specified disability who are over 16 but under 66. As a result of that disability, which must be expected to last at least a year, they must be deemed to be substantially restricted in obtaining employment otherwise suitable to their age, qualifications and experience. Applicants must also satisfy a means test and be habitually resident in the State.

The onus is on the applicant to provide the Department with sufficient evidence to demonstrate their eligibility in relation to all conditionality. Insufficient medical evidence is not recorded as a reason for disallowance on medical grounds and I regret to confirm that my Department is not in a position to provide you with the specific information you request.

Although specific numbers are not available, the Department confirms that the quality and relevance of medical evidence supplied is a significant factor contributing to the number of applications which are disallowed in the first instance but allowed subsequently once additional evidence is supplied. The Department is happy to review its decisions in the light of additional supporting evidence but this causes delays for customers. It is in the interests of the customer, their doctor(s) and the Department that comprehensive evidence is furnished by the applicant in support of his/her application in the first instance.

It should be noted that in its assessment of a person’s medical suitability for DA, the Department does not dispute the diagnosis(es) of an applicant’s doctor(s). Rather, it considers the severity and expected duration of the condition(s) and the resultant care needs (where relevant) and assesses to what extent these match with the statutory conditionality of the DA scheme.