Vol. 458 No. 8
90 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health his views on the inequity that if a recipient of disabled person's maintenance allowance returns to work, he does not lose his disabled person's maintenance allowance and his wife continues as a dependant, whereas if his wife goes out to work, he loses the allowance paid in respect of his wife. [17874/95]
Limerick East): Disabled person's maintenance allowance is the primary income support scheme operated by my Department for people who, because of their disability, cannot work and are not in a position to maintain themselves in the community.
Under section 69 of the Health Act, 1970, health boards, in assessing eligibility for disabled person's maintenance allowance, are obliged to have regard to the means of both the applicant and his/her spouse. A disabled person's maintenance allowance recipient is entitled to earn £34.10 in rehabilitative training or employment without affecting his/her entitlement to disabled person's maintenance allowance.
I am aware of differences between the assessment of means for disabled person's maintenance allowance and for social assistance schemes under the Department of Social Welfare. The spouse of a social welfare recipient on unemployment assistance is entitled to earn up to £60 per week, including travelling expenses, without affecting entitlement to this allowance. There is no similar provision under the disabled person's maintenance allowance regulations.
