Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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166. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if and when appropriate disability allowance, illness benefit or alternative will be made available to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16615/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Illness benefit is a payment for people who cannot work due to illness and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. One of the PRSI conditions is that a person must have a minimum of 39 reckonable contributions paid or credited in the governing contribution year. Claims made in 2015 are governed by the 2013 tax year, and only PRSI Classes A, E, H, and P are reckonable for illness benefit purposes.

The person concerned made a claim to illness benefit and this claim was received in my department on 22 Mar 2016. This claim was disallowed as the person concerned does not satisfy the above contribution criteria. The person concerned has been notified of this decision.

They have advised the department that they were employed elsewhere within the EU. The EU record has been requested and the person concerned will be notified by my department when this record is received.

I confirm that my department is also in receipt of an application for disability allowance from the above named person on 11 May 2016. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

I understand that the person in question has made an application for supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) in the interim. They have been requested by the community welfare service to supply certain information in connection this application which is necessary in order to decide her entitlement. On receipt of this information from the person concerned, a decision will be made on her application for SWA.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.