Dan Neville
Ceist:586 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will arrange to make a payment of a disability allowance to persons (details supplied) in Dublin 20. [26022/01]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Jan O'Sullivan
Ceist:592 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if people with a disability who are in residential care can qualify for disability allowance; if not, the income they can access through his Department for their personal needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26073/01]
Pat Carey
Ceist:600 Mr. P. Carey asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if an organisation (details supplied) in Dublin 20 is interpreting the social welfare regulations as they apply to a number of residents of the house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26167/01]
Michael Ring
Ceist:602 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reason persons in full-time residence of institutions such as Cheshire homes are not permitted to receive benefits; his views on whether this is taking away a person's dignity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26238/01]
Brian Hayes
Ceist:604 Mr. B. Hayes asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if a person who is in receipt of a disability allowance and then moves into a long-term residential care situation is then entitled to continue to receive the original benefit that he or she was awarded by his Department; if his attention has been drawn to the situation at a home (details supplied) in Dublin 1 in respect of a number of residents who are not in receipt of any benefit from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26303/01]
Denis Naughten
Ceist:608 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that residents of the Cara Cheshire Home, Phoenix Park, Dublin 20, are not receiving a disability payment; if he will appoint an officer from his Department to review this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26471/01]
Pat Rabbitte
Ceist:612 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that residents of the Cara Cheshire House, Phoenix Park, Dublin 20, have no entitlement to a benefit paid by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26645/01]
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:616 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of residents in a home (details supplied) in Dublin 20 are not entitled to any payment from the State; and if he will ensure that disability allowance can be retained to some degree by residents to provide for their day to day personal financial needs. [26775/01]
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 586, 592, 600, 602, 604, 608, 612 and 616 together.
One of the conditions applying to the former disabled person's maintenance allowance – disabled person's maintenance allowance – scheme was that the payment was not made to people who were in residential care or in hospital. People in this situation had their maintenance costs and an element of pocket money met through funding from the appropriate health board. However, since the take-over of the disability allowance scheme by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs this disqualification has been progressively relaxed, as follows: from October 1996 disability allowance is continued for up to 13 weeks where the person is admitted to hospital for treatment; with effect from June 1997 disability allowance was paid at half rate for those in part-time residential care. In addition, people who come home for an extended holiday period of three weeks or more can qualify for disability allowance for that period; since August 1999 existing recipients of disability allowance who are living at home can retain their entitlement where they subsequently go into hospital or residential care; from May 2000 people in part-time residential care who had been entitled to half rate disability allowance since June 1997 became entitled to payment at the full rate.
In addition, people who are living in community-based residences are eligible to receive disability allowance provided the relevant health board is not providing funding towards their maintenance. These improvements now mean that many of those who had previously been disqualified for payment under the disabled person's maintenance allowance scheme because they were in residential care are now entitled to payment under the disability allowance scheme. Nevertheless, based on the limited data available it is estimated there are still in the region of 4,000 to 5,000 people with disabilities in residential care who are not entitled to disability allowance. This includes people with physical disabilities who have been in full-time residential care in Cheshire Homes since before August 1999. The cost of abolishing the residency rule for this group is esti mated to be approximately £25 million – 32 million – per annum.
Despite the recent improvements, it is recognised that more needs to be done. The potential for further improvements in this area is being examined in a budgetary context in the light of the available resources and having regard to the Government's other priorities.