The regulations governing payment of disability benefit require my Department to apply adequate control measures for customers in receipt of benefit. The medical review process assists my Department with regard to these control measures. Medical assessors of my Department provide a second opinion to that of the customer's own doctor for the guidance of the Department's deciding officers who ultimately determine entitlement to disability benefit and other illness related schemes.
All of the Departments medical assessors are fully qualified and experienced medical practitioners who have full registration with the Medical Council. Many have postgraduate qualifications in occupational medicine, some to specialist level. All receive continuing medical education, by national and international experts, in disability evaluation medicine. Most are members of the Irish Society of Occupational Medicine.
When customers are called for medical examinations, my Department makes every effort to ensure that the customer's interests are fully safeguarded. Prior to the setting up of all medical examinations, my Department first requests an up-to-date medical report from the customer's own medical certifier which is taken into consideration before the customer is called for the medical examination. The medical assessor reviews the history of the case, considers the available medical evidence, carries out a medical examination having regard to the certified cause of incapacity and expresses an opinion based on the overall clinical assessment on the extent to which the incapacity affects the person's ability to work.
The person in question was examined on 21 August 2002 by a medical assessor who expressed the opinion that he did not satisfy the medical criteria for receipt of disability benefit. Following that examination a decision was made by a deciding officer to discontinue his disability benefit from 29 August 2002. The person appealed this decision to the social welfare appeals office and in this context he was examined on 14 October 2002 by another medical assessor, who also expressed the opinion that he did not satisfy the medical criteria for receipt of disability benefit. A form has been sent to the person in question to enable him to set out the complete and up to date grounds of his appeal. When the customer returns the completed form, it will be passed to an appeals officer for consideration. The appeals officer may decide to have an oral hearing before deciding the appeal.
