Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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1335.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the qualification criteria for partial capacity benefit can be urgently reviewed (details supplied). [32487/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability. These include contributory payments based on PRSI contributions, such as Illness Benefit and Invalidity Pension, and non-contributory payments based on a means test, such as Disability Allowance and Blind Pension.

Invalidity Pension, a social insurance scheme, is a weekly payment to people who cannot work because of a long-term illness or disability and who are covered by PRSI contributions. 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.

Eligibility for Invalidity Pension depends on the person’s PRSI record and class. People must have made the required number of contributions in Class A, E, H or S to qualify.

Illness Benefit is the primary short term income support provided by my Department to those who are unable to work due to illness of any type and who are covered by social insurance. Eligibility for Illness Benefit depends on the person’s PRSI record and class. People must have made the required number of contributions in Class A, E, H or P to qualify.

The medical assessment of Invalidity Pension and Illness Benefit would differ as a qualifying condition for receipt of Invalidity Pension is that a claimant must be regarded as being permanently incapable of work. Illness Benefit is a scheme to support you if you cannot work in the short term due to illness.

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.

The personal rate of payment of Partial Capacity Benefit is based on a medical assessment of a person’s restriction regarding their capacity for work. 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 that 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 3 years applies.

Partial Capacity Benefit has been designed so there are no restrictions or limits on earnings from employment or on the number of hours a person can work.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.