Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The autumn Cost of Living double payment and the once-off €500 Cost of Living Disability Support Grant are part of a range of measures put in place as part of Budget 2023 to mitigate the effects of the increased cost of living.

The autumn Cost of Living double payment will be paid to recipients of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension, Disablement Benefit and Partial Capacity Benefit.

The €500 once-off Cost of Living Disability Support Grant will be paid in November to people in receipt of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension or Blind Pension - these are all long-term disability payments.

Qualifying payments for the autumn double payment are those payments that are considered long-term payments. People on long-term payments are unlikely to have additional resources of their own and are more vulnerable to being at risk of poverty. It is for this reason that the Department allocates additional payments, supports and resources to help this cohort of claimants.

Illness Benefit is not a qualifying payment for the Autumn double payment, or for the once-off Disability Support Grant. In the vast majority of cases, Illness Benefit is a short-term payment for those who are certified by their GP as needing to take time out from their employment. Most recipients of Illness Benefit still have an attachment to the labour force and there is an expectation that they will return to work.

Long-term Illness Benefit recipients who are permanently incapable of work may be eligible for Invalidity Pension (subject to satisfying the relevant medical criteria and social insurance contributions). Those who are substantially restricted in undertaking suitable employment arising from a medical condition may be eligible for the means-tested Disability Allowance (subject to the relevant medical criteria). All recipients of both of these payments are eligible for additional benefits including free travel and the household benefits package.

This Department provides Additional Needs Payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme to help meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. This includes exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from a person’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary.

Illness Benefit recipients will benefit from the €12 increase in the maximum weekly rate of this payment from January 2023.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.