Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 October 2018
331. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of medical review forms issued to illness benefit recipients to date in 2018; the number of forms that were sent to the same person more than once; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42989/18]
View answerMy Department is obliged to assess continued medical eligibility for all Illness Benefit (IB) claims. The aim of the form that is issued in this regard is to enable the customer to provide a self-assessment of how their illness is impacting their ability to return to work. This engagement takes place before a decision is made whether or not to refer a customer for a medical assessment.
My Department recently moved to new IT system and this has impacted on payments to some Illness Benefit customers. The transition from the old to the new system has involved moving from a payment in arrears system to a real-time system for Illness Benefit. As is the case in nearly every new system deployment some teething issues emerge post-implementation that require fast turnaround fixes. In this case an issue in the system caused a number of forms to be sent in error to some customers. The Department sincerely apologises for any confusion or distress this may have caused. The issue was identified quickly and was fixed and the matter has now been resolved.
I want to assure the Deputy that no customer claims were closed and no payments were affected as a result of this issue.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
