Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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484. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of application claims for illness benefit nationally; the length of time for processing applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16401/22]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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485. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of application claims for illness benefit in County Meath; the length of time for processing applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16402/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 484 and 485 together.

The Illness Benefit scheme is designed to provide support to those who cannot attend work in the short term due to illness.

To qualify for a payment under the terms of the Illness Benefit scheme a person must be under pensionable age, satisfy prescribed PRSI conditions and be certified by a doctor as being incapable of attending work due to illness.

Details of the number of Illness Benefit claims for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 are shown in the table below. The numbers shown for Co. Meath are those where claimants included Co. Meath as part of their address when completing their application forms. The manner in which the data is maintained does not facilitate a breakdown by county in relation to claim performance.

Applications that require officer review to ensure eligibility for payment can take longer to process. My officials consistently work to clear all claims as quickly as possible.