Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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263. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for invalidity pension refused by her Department in each of the past five years to date; if receipt of a disability allowance for a period of more than one year is no longer regarded as creating an eligibility for invalidity pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19514/18]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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The following table shows the number of Invalidity Pension (IP) claims disallowed for each of the years 2013 to 2017.

INVALIDITY PENSION CLAIMS

IP is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the social insurance contribution conditions.

From 01 December 2017, to qualify for IP, a person must have a total of 260 weeks PRSI paid and 48 weeks PRSI paid or credited at classes A, E ,H or S in the last or second last complete tax year before date of claim.

The medical qualifying condition for Invalidity Pension is that a person must be regarded as being permanently incapable of work. A person is regarded as being permanently incapable of work if;

For the period of one year immediately before the date of application the person has been continuously incapable of work and a Deciding Officer or an Appeals Officer is satisfied that the person is likely to continue to be incapable of work for at least another year

or

a Deciding Officer or an Appeals Officer is satisfied that the likelihood is that the person will be incapable of work for life.

Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged over 16 and under 66. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency test. As a result of this disability a person must be substantially restricted in undertaking work that would otherwise be suitable for a person of their age, experience and qualifications.

The qualifying criteria for both schemes are different and the fact that a person satisfies the medical qualifying condition for DA does not meant that they will satisfy the medical qualifying condition for IP.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.