Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2023
140. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to cases where people in receipt of full disability allowance will see it revoked if they move out of their parental home to get married or to cohabit with their partner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15194/23]
View answerDisability Allowance is a means-tested social assistance scheme, which is also subject to a medical assessment and habitual residency requirement.
Where a person makes an application for Disability Allowance, the means assessment includes income from employment or self-employment, income from a social security pension from another country and maintenance payments.
If a claimant is married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting, the means of the couple will be assessed. This is the case even if only one of the couple is claiming a payment.
In the assessment of capital means, the couple’s savings, investments, shares and property are included. The home in which the claimant lives is not included in the assessment of means, unless the person receives an income from it.
It must be noted that the entire amount of income or capital is not included while assessing means. The first €50,000 of capital and savings is fully disregarded, the next €10,000 is assessed at €1 per thousand, the following €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand. These disregards are the most generous among social welfare schemes.
For people in employment, an income disregard of €165 per week is applied. In addition, 50% of earnings between €165 and €375 per week is also disregarded for the purpose of the means test.
Where the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is engaged in insurable employment a disregard of €20 per day applies subject to a maximum of €60 per week and the balance is assessed at 60%.
Means is assessed on a household basis and as such must be reassessed if a person’s living circumstances change.
The means assessment reflects the fact that there is an expectation that people with reasonable amounts of income or capital are in a position to use these resources to support themselves so that social welfare expenditure can be directed towards those who need it most.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
