Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter which concerns a constituent of mine, a woman who after suffering a stroke in May 1991 was paralysed on one side. This woman was in receipt of disability benefit and was cared for by her husband who worked the night shift for a security company and her daughter who worked during the day — they looked after her on an alternate basis. When her daughter emigrated to the United States this summer her husband was forced to resign from his job to care for her. Before resigning he made some general inquiries about the possibility of receiving a carer's allowance and was assured that he would qualify.
This man applied for the allowance at the beginning of August and resigned from his job on 16 August. When he telephoned the social welfare office in Sligo towards the end of August he was told he did not qualify for a carer's allowance as his wife was on disability benefit and he could only qualify if she was receiving an invalidity pension. When he inquired about her eligibility for an invalidity pension he was told he would have to apply to the office in Longford. When he asked if this could be done automatically by the office in Sligo he was told this was not possible. He then contacted the office in Longford and, following acceptance of his application over the telephone, he had to make a second application for a carer's allowance. On receipt of his P45, P60 and birth certificate from Sligo he had to submit them to Longford. However, as he only had a short version of his birth certificate he was required to get a long version which he subsequently submitted.
Following that, arrangements were made for a medical which took place on 12 October. His wife was told at the medical that she would get an invalidity pension and a carer's allowance would follow in due course. However, he then had to make a formal application for an invalidity pension — apparently the procedure is that the formal application is made after the medical. When I inquired if the form could be sent out quickly I was told it could not be sent out until it came up on the screen. The forms have now been submitted and I understand it will be two or three weeks before the payment is made.
My complaint tonight does not relate to any individual officer in the Department of Social Welfare, which responded promptly and efficiently to the inquiries made by the applicant and me. Rather it relates to the mind blowing bureaucracy this man had to navigate in order to get a basic entitlement. It will take three months from the time this man resigned from his job to care for his invalided wife to receive the carer's allowance. It is crazy that the social welfare system is designed in such an incredibly bureaucratic way that there is that degree of delay, that at least a dozen officers of the Department of Social Welfare had to handle this very simple application at one stage or another, with its attendant costs, and that applicants should have to put up with delays and be frustrated and inconvenienced in this way. I am satisfied that this case will be resolved in due course, but I appeal to the Minister for Social Welfare to review the entire system so that applicants do not have to go through a maze of bureaucracy in order to receive a basic entitlement. The system is costly and unwieldly and very unfair on the applicant.
