Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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388. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if claimants of partial capacity benefit who are post-1965 civil servants and who are only on pension rate of pay, who become ill, are then entitled to an increase to the rate that they receive equivalent to the full-rate paid in respect of the invalidity pension; the circumstances in which such claimants not entitled to this rate increase; if circular 6/95 is relevant to these cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2734/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Partial Capacity Benefit is a scheme which extends the Illness Benefit and Invalidity Pension schemes to recognise and respond to the reality that some people in receipt of these payments have a capacity to engage in open market employment while continuing to need to receive some income support from the State.

People in receipt of Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit (the latter for a minimum of 26 weeks) who wish to return to work are eligible for Partial Capacity Benefit if their capacity for work is reduced as a result of their medical condition.

Circular 6/95 refers to the change that post-1995 civil servants pay Class A PRSI – this in turn entitles them to Invalidity Pension and Illness Benefit, which may lead to Partial Capacity Benefit.

It is important to note that once the person qualifies for Partial Capacity Benefit, the only two factors that have an impact on the individual personal rate of payment are the scheme the person moved from (Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension) and the result of their medical assessment.

After the medical assessment, if a person's disability is rated as moderate, severe or profound, their payment continues at 50%, 75% or 100% per cent of their existing rate, respectively. If assessed as mild, they will not qualify for Partial Capacity Benefit. The duration a person can be in receipt of Partial Capacity Benefit is linked to the payment they moved from. For someone moving from Illness Benefit, the maximum duration is two years (less the 26 weeks required to be eligible). In the case of Invalidity Pension, a maximum duration of 156 weeks applies.

If a person who is in receipt of Partial Capacity Benefit becomes ill and is unable to work for a period, they should contact the Partial Capacity Benefit Section. The Department of Social Protection will reassess the Partial Capacity Benefit claim and the customer may revert to their underlying scheme of Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension.

If and when they become able for work again, they should contact the Partial Capacity Benefit Section who will advise on the options available to them. If the medical assessment finds that the person is more restricted in their capacity to work than before, their rate will reflect this.

Partial Capacity Benefit, Invalidity Pension and Illness Benefit are statutory schemes and the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 as amended applies, together with S.I. 142 of 2007 (as amended).

If the Deputy wishes to supply details of a particular case I can get a deciding officer to review all entitlements. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.