Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2023
473. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied); if the case will be reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15309/23]
View answerThe person concerned applied for Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) on the 9 January 2023.
Partial Capacity Benefit is a social welfare scheme which allows the claimant to return to work or self-employment (if the have reduced capacity to work) and continue to receive a payment from my department. The rules governing PCB are that a person must be in receipt of payment of Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension on the day immediately before the application for PCB is made.
In the case of Illness Benefit, the person must also be in receipt of Illness Benefit for 6 months priorto making the application. Where this occurs, PCB will then remain payable for the duration of an underlying Illness Benefit entitlement that remains.
On 10 January 2023 the person concerned was disallowed PCB as they had no current underlying entitlement to Illness Benefit. Their Illness Benefit claim had stopped on the 3 January 2023 as their entitlement had exhausted, prior to their application for PCB.
The person concerned appealed this decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) and their file was submitted to that office on the 2 March 2023. We await the Appeal Officers decision and will implement as soon as it is received.
I trust this clarifies for the Deputy.
