Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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262. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if those in receipt of payments from her Department and undertaking training courses will be eligible for the disability support grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61401/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department has acted very quickly to deliver the Disability Support Grant and other budget measures within an exceptionally short timeframe.  Wherever possible, budget measures that are usually implemented in the January to March period of the year following a budget announcement, have been brought forward and implemented within a period of weeks.  While this early issue of payments was very challenging it was possible to achieve for people paid directly off the Department’s own payment systems.

I can confirm that people on training courses, having previously been in receipt of a Disability Allowance payment, will receive the €500 Disability Support Grant.

When undertaking training courses, recipients of Disability Allowance move off the Department’s payment systems and transfer to a Department of Further, Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science funded Training Allowance.  As a consequence, it was not possible to process early payment of the Disability Support Grant to these recipients in the same manner as was implemented in respect of people paid directly through the Department’s own systems.

My officials have examined this issue in conjunction with their colleagues in the Department of Further, Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science who will be making these payments.