Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a suite of income supports for those unable to work due to illness or disability. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes.

The primary social assistance scheme for people who are blind or visually impaired is the Blind Pension, which is a means-tested payment payable to those aged between 18 and 66. Blind Pension is the only income support payment designed to cater for a specific disability.

Eligibility for Blind Pension requires that a person’s vision is impaired to such an extent that they cannot perform any work for which eyesight is essential or cannot continue in their ordinary occupation. The scheme is designed to support recipients to avail of opportunities to pursue their own employment ambitions, be that self-employment or insurable employment.

Means-testing of Blind Pension is a statutory requirement under social welfare legislation. The means test plays a critical role in determining if an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency - be that illness, caring, unemployment or disability.

To be eligible for Blind Pension a person does not need to have prior social insurance contributions.

Invalidity Pension, on the other hand, is a social insurance scheme. Eligibility is based on PRSI contributions and medical condition. In order to qualify, the person must have been incapable of work for at least 12 months and be likely to be incapable of work for at least another 12 months or must be permanently incapable of work.

My Department is committed to consulting on proposals to reform long-term disability payments, including Blind Pension and Invalidity Pension. In this regard, I launched a Green Paper and a public consultation last September to reform disability payments in Ireland. The consultation period has been extended to 31st July 2024 and details are available at www.gov.ie/disabilitypaymentsreform.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.