asked the Minister for Social Welfare the conditions at present attached to married women in receipt of disability benefit; and how these differ from conditions attached to other applicants.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Disability Benefit.
5.
To be eligible for disability benefit a claimant must be unfit for work and satisfy the contribution conditions which require that
(a) not less than 26 employment contributions must have been paid on behalf of the claimant, and
(b) not less than 26 contributions must have been paid in respect of or credited to the claimant for the contribution year preceding the benefit year; for benefit at full rate 48 contributions in that contribution year are required.
The above conditions apply in respect of all applicants for disability benefit and there are no different conditions for married women.
I gather there are no different conditions for married women but does the Minister and the Department take into account the different situation of married women and the possibility of pregnancy complications and so on? Is there any system within the Department for taking into account the basic differences and the different type of problems married women can have because of those?
There are other questions here about the general question of married women and disability benefit but this particular question only applies to the contribution conditions. I have outlined those for the Deputy. They are of general application and they apply to everybody under the social welfare schemes.
6.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of women at present in receipt of a reduced rate of disability benefit.
The number of women at present receiving disability benefit at reduced rates is 26,516. Of these 22,452 are married women dependent on their husbands, 3,205 are also receiving other payments by the Department as widows, deserted wives of unmarried mothers and 859 had deficient insurance records.