Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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361. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will postpone social welfare audits on persons with disabilities during Covid-19 restrictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43096/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Reviews of entitlement can arise in a number of situations - at initial application when the customer's entitlement is being assessed, following a request from the customer for a review of entitlement or as part of an ongoing control review process undertaken by my Department. These reviews can, in some instances, require a Social Welfare investigation.

Social Welfare investigations are carried out by Inspectors appointed by the Minister to investigate and report on a person’s circumstances and confirm that they meet the scheme conditionality. All social welfare inspectors operate under a code of practice which sets out the manner in which they are required to deal with the public. The code requires that customers must at all times be treated equally, fairly, with respect and dignity, as outlined in the Customer Charter.

Where possible, investigations are being done by carrying out desk assessments of the relevant information or by contacting the customer by phone. In some instances, however, getting to a final determination necessitates the making of home visits. Each case is considered on an individual basis. If a person with a disability requires specific accommodations, this will be taken into account by an inspector when determining the approach to be taken in that particular investigation.

At all times my Department adheres to the Government guidelines in relation to the Covid-19 restrictions.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.