Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disablement Benefit is one of the benefits payable under the Occupation Injuries Benefit Scheme to an insured person who suffers a loss of physical or mental faculty as a result of an occupational accident or a prescribed occupational disease that was sustained on or after 1 May 1967.

In 2010, an agreement was reached by the Department with the National Coal Miners Group Committee (NCMCG) that a mechanism would be put in place to deal with current or potential entitlements for former miners who suffer from Pneumoconiosis, in accordance with the existing terms of the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme.

All Disablement Benefit claims must meet the criteria for Occupational Injuries Disablement Benefit before they can be referred to the Chief Medical Officer. These include:

• The insurability of employment must be established (i.e the claimant must have been employed in the mines on or after 1 May 1967).
• The disease must have developed on or after 1 May 1967.
• The Chief Medical Officer of the Department must be satisfied that there is evidence of Pneumoconiosis.

It is open to former employees of Arigna Mines to apply for Disablement Benefit and their application will be considered. If the Deputy wants to forward on details of a specific case, officials from my Department will review the matter and provide further clarity.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.