Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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401. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on an application for disability allowance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42184/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions.

I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned on 16 August 2023.

On 31 August 2023, an information request was sent to the person concerned as the initial application did not contain all the information required to make a decision. I can confirm that this information was received on 6 September 2023.

The person concerned was awarded DA and notified of the decision in writing on 28 September 2023. They will receive their first payment via their chosen payment method on 4 October 2023.

Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustments are calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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402. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on an application for disability allowance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42185/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 20 June 2023. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 11 July 2023 and the case was referred to an Appeals Officer on 26 July 2023.

The Appeals Officer has advised that he will shortly make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral hearing.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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403. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to provide an update on a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42200/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions.

I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned on 2 August 2023. As their initial application did not contain all the information required for a decision, an information request letter was sent to the person concerned on 23 August 2023 to supply this supporting documentation. I can confirm that this information was received on 19 September 2023.

Based on the evidence supplied in support of this person’s application, his DA was disallowed on the grounds that the medical qualifying condition was not satisfied.

The person concerned was notified in writing of this decision on 26 September 2023. They were given the right to request a review or to appeal the decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO). I can confirm that no request for a review or an appeal has been received to date.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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404. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on an application for disability allowance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42202/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 24 August 2023. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral appeal hearing.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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405. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on an application for disability allowance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42206/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The person concerned was in receipt of Disability Allowance (DA) from 14 March 2018.

A review of their entitlement commenced in April 2023, and they were requested to provide relevant documentation to a Social Welfare Inspector.

This information, to validate their ongoing DA entitlement, was not provided and therefore their weekly payment was suspended with effect from 31 May 2023. A letter advising the person concerned of this decision issued to their home address on 24 May 2023 giving them 21 days to provide any statement or further evidence.

Subsequently, the Department received information indicating that this individual was no longer residing in the State. A letter issued to the person concerned on 11September 2023 advising that their Disability Allowance had been terminated with effect from 31 May 2023 as they had failed to show that their means do not exceed the statutory limit and that the evidence available to the Department indicated that they were not residing in the State. This letter offered the right to seek a review and/or an appeal.

To date, the person concerned has not made contact with the Department nor have they furnished the outstanding documentation. It is open to them to contact the Social Welfare Inspector in order for a further meeting to be arranged to review their claim.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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406. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on an application for disability allowance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42207/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions.

I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned on 7 July 2023. On 28 July 2023, they were requested to supply supporting documentation which was missing from the initial application, in order to make a decision on their eligibility.

Upon review of the supporting documentation, the person concerned has been awarded DA with effect from 12 July 2023 and the first payment will be made by their chosen payment method on 18 October 2023.

Arrears of payment due from 12 July 2023 to 17 October 2023 will issue as soon as possible, once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments (if applicable).

The person concerned was notified of this decision in writing on 26 September 2023.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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407. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on a disability allowance application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42209/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions.

I can confirm that the Department received an application for DA from the person concerned on 18 April 2023. However, the person concerned was not eligible for receipt of DA until their 16th birthday.

The person concerned was awarded DA with effect from 19 July 2023 and the first payment was made by their chosen payment method on 30 August 2023. Arrears of payment due from 19 July 2023 to 29 August 2023 were also issued to the person concerned.

The person concerned was notified of this decision in writing on 9 August 2023.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.