Peter Burke
Question:1147. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied). [3066/20]
View answerThursday, 5 March 2020
Questions (1147)
Written answers
An application for State pension non-contributory was received from the person concerned on 16 May 2019. The case was referred to an Inspector of the Department on 23 May 2019 to interview the applicant and provide a means report.
The Inspector interviewed the person concerned on a number of occasions and on 1 October 2019 requested further information and sought a further interview. The person concerned notified the Inspector that they were going away for a number of weeks. The Inspector made subsequent efforts to contact and visit the applicant. No response was received from the person concerned.
The case was returned to the Deciding Officer on 28 November 2019. The claim was disallowed as the person's eligibility for pension could not be assessed; the person failed to make themselves available for interview by the Department's Inspector and failed to provide the required information.
The person concerned was notified of this decision on 10 December 2019, the reasons for the decision and their right, if dissatisfied with the decision, to request a review of the decision, or to appeal the decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office. There is no record of an appeal made against the decision.
It remains open to the person concerned to contact the State pension (non contributory) section, at Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, College Road, Sligo, if they now wish to make themselves available for interview and provide the required information in order to assess their eligibility for pension.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.