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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 3 Apr 1996

Vol. 463 No. 7

Written Answers. - Ombudsman Report.

Joe Walsh

Ceist:

77 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the comments of the Ombudsman, in his recent annual report, regarding the iniquitous position of applicants for social welfare payments who are denied such payments from the date of eligibility; and the plans, if any, he has to remedy this situation. [7303/96]

In his annual report for 1993, the Ombudsman criticised the statutory provisions whereby a person is required to apply for a social welfare payment within a specified time, as being inequitable in the context of social insurance payments.

Under these statutory provisions, where a person fails to apply within the prescribed time, he or she can be disqualified from receiving payment prior to the date of application. However, there are provisions for backdating applications where the person shows that there was a good cause for the delay in making the application. In general, applications for social welfare payments can be backdated for six months.
My Department has undertaken a review of the statutory provisions. However, as I indicated to the Deputy in reply to an earlier question, the issues involved in the review have turned out to be more difficult than was originally anticipated. In particular it appears that relaxation of the current legislative requirements could have significant cost implications and would have to be considered, therefore, in the light of other priorities.
The primary reason for late applications in the case of pensions is that people claim not to be fully aware of their entitlements. In this regard, my Department is continuously examining options for improved targeting of information which will ensure that people are aware in time of their social welfare entitlements.
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