Social welfare legislation provides that all income and capital belonging to an applicant (and his or her spouse/partner, where applicable) is assessable for means testing purposes for social assistance schemes, such as the State Pension Non-Contributory (SPNC). This includes capital such as savings, investments, and property (other than the principal family home).
Under the means testing rules applying to the SPNC, the first €20,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 is assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand. The SPNC means test also disregards the first €30 of weekly means from any source. This means that a recipient of the SPNC with no other means can hold capital of up to €40,000 and still qualify for the maximum weekly rate of payment.
Certain statutory bodies are empowered to purchase land by means of a compulsory purchase order (CPO). Compulsory purchase usually takes place to allow a public infrastructure project to proceed for the common good. Where a person's property is subject to a compulsory purchase order, they should be compensated based on the market value of their land or property.
Disregarding a potentially large amount of capital such as this, based solely on the fact that it was acquired through a CPO, would run contrary to the general aim of the means test, which is to ensure that persons with reasonable amounts of income or capital are in a position to use it to support themselves without having to rely solely on a means-tested welfare payment.
However, it should be noted that where a person has sold his/her residence and is holding the money pending completion of the purchase of another property, a Deciding Officer may decide not to assess the capital for a temporary period and review subsequently to confirm that the purchase was completed. This exemption can be considered in cases where a person's home has been subject to a CPO, while they are in the process of purchasing another home.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.