Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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1373. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to a disability allowance claim (details supplied); if he will investigate the length of time it is taking for a decision to be made on the claim; when the social welfare inspector received the claim for the purpose of a means report to be conducted; the timeframe for a decision to be made on the claim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18532/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

My Department received correspondence from the person concerned on 12 August 2024 notifying a change of circumstances and requested that her DA Payment be re-rated to the maximum rate of DA while on sick leave from employment.

The processing time for individual DA rate reviews may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim.

I can confirm that, following a review, it was found that the person's personal circumstances have changed. However, it would not be in their financial interest to review the DA from July 2024. Rather, due to an increase in means (derived from self-employment of the person's spouse) an updated reduced weekly rate of DA has been applied to the DA claim effective from 30 April 2025.

The person concerned was notified in writing of this decision on 10 April 2025, and was given the right to request a review and/or appeal.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.