Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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699. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for the decision to reject a disability allowance application for a person (details supplied), who had previously been in receipt of the allowance but had it withdrawn on the basis of means testing; the reason, upon reapplying, the individual was refused on medical grounds despite having lifelong and well-documented disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62828/25]

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, a means test and the habitual residency conditions.

To qualify for DA, a person must be considered to be substantially restricted in undertaking employment suitable to his/her age, qualifications and experience. The condition must be expected to last for at least 12 months.

I can confirm that, having previously been in receipt of DA up to June 2021, the Department received a new application for DA from the person concerned on 07 October 2024. Based on the evidence supplied in support of this person’s application, this application for DA was refused, for failing to supply sufficient information to determine their means. In addition, their application, based upon all the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds as it was not found that they were substantially restricted in taking up employment.

The person concerned was notified in writing of this decision on 29 October 2024 and was also notified of their right to request a review of this decision or to appeal it to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).

Following a review, the person concerned satisfied the means criteria for DA but was deemed not medical eligible. The person concerned was notified in writing of the review decisions on 25 November 2024 and 16 January 2025.

An appeal was lodged with the SWAO. The SWAO notified the DA section that the original decision was upheld and the appeal was disallowed. The person concerned was notified directly by the SWAO regarding their appeal on 14 March 2025.

An Appeals Officer’s decision is final and conclusive in absence of any fresh facts or evidence. It is open to the person in question to reapply for DA.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.