Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
887. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has informed GPs not to issue medical certs for those individuals seeking such certificates for social welfare reasons. [16821/23]
View answerOne of the conditions for receipt of Illness Benefit is the provision of appropriate medical evidence. The acceptable form of medical evidence is a Certificate of Incapacity which can either be submitted electronically by a GP to the Department by way of an e-certificate or, if this is not possible, a paper certificate known as a MED1 may be provided by a GP to their patient.
No instruction has issued from my Department to deviate from this practice. My Department provides dedicated support to any GP experiencing difficulty with the submission of medical certificates. This support service can be contacted by either phoning (01) 6732350 or emailing gpqueries@welfare.ie
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
