Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 July 2021
166. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 854 of 15 June 2021, her plans to defer the 13-week requalification period for partial capacity benefit until after the Covid-19 pandemic period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35304/21]
View answerPeople in receipt of Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit (the latter for a minimum of 26 weeks) who wish to return to work are eligible for Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) for a period if their capacity for work is reduced as a result of their medical condition. The personal rate of payment of PCB is based on a medical assessment of a person’s restriction regarding their capacity for work and whether the person was in receipt of Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension (i.e. their existing rate of payment). The duration a person can be in receipt of PCB is linked to the payment they moved from, subject to a maximum of 156 weeks. For someone moving from Illness Benefit, the maximum duration of their PCB payment is 624 payment days (less the number of weeks they have been in receipt of Illness Benefit, including the minimum 26 weeks required to be eligible for PCB). In the case of Invalidity Pension the maximum duration of 156 weeks applies. My Department contacts customers 13 weeks in advance of the end date of the PCB payment duration period and the correspondence issued outlines options for the customer to consider prior to the payment ceasing. Where a person completes their allowed period on PCB, a new application can be made. The application must meet all the eligibility criteria including, in the case of persons in receipt of Illness Benefit, the requirement to have completed 26 weeks in receipt of the payment. There are no plans at this stage to amend the conditions underpinning the scheme. Apart from the above, my Department also provides support under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, for people who finds themselves in financial difficulties. The Department may also make an exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income.
