asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state the degree of blindness which is required to qualify for (a) State blind pension and (b) corporation blind allowance.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Blind Pension: Allowance.
The statutory condition as to blindness for the receipt of a pension, as a blind person, under the Old Age Pensions Acts is that the person concerned should be so blind that either he or she cannot perform any work for which eyesight is essential, or that he or she cannot continue his or her ordinary occupation. The same condition applies in relation to allowances granted under blind welfare schemes administered by local authorities.
The degree of blindness required to qualify for a pension or allowance is not defined in the relevant Acts or schemes.
Is the Minister aware that while the degree of blindness must be such as to prevent the applicant from carrying on his or her usual occupation, embroidery workers are not given the benefit of that particular regulation?
I am not aware that such is the case.
Persons who derive their livelihood from hand embroidery and who are no longer able to carry on are not granted the benefit of that particular regulation. Would the Minister look into that particular matter with a view to having the regulation amended?
I can assure the Minister that there is a differentiation between the degree of blindness in respect of a State blind pension and the corporation blind allowance.
The same test is applied to applicants for either the State pension or a corporation allowance. As far as Deputy Brennan's question is concerned, account is taken of the occupation. I assume that in an examination of an applicant for a blind pension who was hitherto engaged in such work as embroidery, her ability or inability to continue that type of work would be taken into account.
Is the Minister aware that we have had numerous cases where certificates were produced from the embroidery agent proving that these people could no longer depend on the allocation of work to the particular applicant and yet they were deprived of pensions and could not qualify? If the Minister will agree to look into individual cases, I could give him sufficient information on them.
As the Deputy is aware, the Minister has no function in a matter such as this. It is a matter for the ophthalmic surgeon in the first place, and then for the appeals officer or——
Is the Minister not aware that there are degrees of blindness, that if they have three-sixtieths they qualify but if they have six-sixtieths they will not qualify?
There is information at my disposal as to the standard applied and if the Deputy wishes I can tell him what the standard is. As a layman I might say it does not convey anything to me. A standard was agreed by an international organisation at which Ireland was represented —it is not an official organisation—and the minimum definition of blindness which was urged for acceptance by the Governments of the different countries represented was as follows: (a) total absence of sight; or (b) visual acuity not exceeding three-sixtieths or ten two-hundredths (Snellan) of normal vision in the better eye with correcting lenses; or (c) serious limitation in the field of vision generally not greater than 20 degrees. I am not capable of interpreting what that means; neither, I am sure, is the Deputy, but this, I am informed, is the standard that has been applied by the surgeons.