Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2015
208. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the full extent of entitlement to a disability allowance-invalidity pension in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8122/15]
View answerAn application for disability allowance (DA) from the person concerned was disallowed by a deciding officer (DO) on 4 February 2012 on the grounds that his weekly means exceeded the statutory limit allowable in his case. The person concerned was notified of that decision and the reasons for it on the same date.
There is currently no DA application registered for the person concerned. If he considers that he may qualify, it is open to him to submit a new application for assessment and decision.
Invalidity Pension is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the contribution conditions.
An application for Invalidity Pension (IP) was received from the person concerned on 19 January 2012. This application was disallowed by a DO on the grounds that he did not satisfy the contribution conditions for IP. The person concerned did not have the necessary 48 paid or credited contributions in the governing contribution year i.e. 2011, which was the last contribution year prior to his application date.
The person concerned appealed the decision to the social welfare appeals office (SWAO). His appeal was disallowed and he was notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision on 04 March 2014.
If the person in question is incapable of work, he may qualify for the award of credited PRSI contributions for the period of his incapacity. For more information he should consult the department’s illness benefit section, the department’s website at www.welfare.ie or his local citizen’s information service.
