Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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460. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the State pension entitlement of a person (details supplied) will be examined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36682/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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State pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. For the purposes of the means test, cash income, including any additional pension(s), the value of any property (excluding a person’s own home), and the value of any savings and investments which a person or their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant hold or co-hold, are assessable.

The person concerned applied for state pension non-contributory on 29 January 2024, and their case was assigned to a Social Welfare Inspector on 2 February 2024, for their assistance in establishing the person’s entitlement to the payment.

Following the return of the case by the Inspector, the person’s application was disallowed on 8 May 2024, for the reason that they failed to fully disclose their means by not providing all the documentation requested.

The Deputy's previous Parliamentary Question was accepted as a request for a further review, with the person’s case reassigned to an Inspector for their assistance in establishing their entitlement.

The Inspector contacted the person concerned on 24 June 2024, and their accountant on 26 June 2024, confirming the necessity to arrange an interview and gather all outstanding documentation, in order to establish their entitlement. A follow up telephone call was made to the accountant on 18 July 2024, in which the Inspector left a voicemail message. No response was received and as a result, the Inspector submitted their report to the Deciding Officer on 31 July 2024. The review of the person’s entitlement was completed on 6 August 2024 and the decision to disallow the person's application on 8 May 2024 remained unchanged.

A review decision letter issued to the person concerned on 6 August 2024, outlining the decision and offering the right to appeal the decision by writing to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, within 21 days, should they disagree with the decision.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.