Vol. 426 No. 5
310 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the means testing of people with mental handicap for disabled person's maintenance allowance can result in serious hardship and worry for their parents; and the proposals, if any, he has to alter the procedure to ensure that people with mental handicap are not deprived of their income.
I presume the Deputy is referring to people with mental handicap who are living at home with their parents. Disabled person's maintenance allowance —disabled person's maintenance allowance—is a means-tested scheme of allowances operated by the health boards. The means test for disabled person's maintenance allowance for disabled people living at home is significantly more favourable than that applying under social assistance schemes. Under disabled person's maintenance allowance the value of board and lodgings provided by the parents is not taken into account in assessing income whereas such benefits are taken into account in the case of social assistance schemes.
