Paul Kehoe
Question:262. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Social Protection the current status of a disability allowance review for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5739/23]
View answerWednesday, 8 February 2023
Questions (262)
Written answers
Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and Habitual Residency conditions.
I can confirm that the person concerned is in receipt of DA effective from 05 August 2009 and currently assessed with nil means.
The DA of the person concerned is currently under review.
An information request letter from a Deciding Officer (DO) issued to the person concerned on 01 February 2023. This letter clearly set out all of the required information needed to complete the review and that 21 days are allowed for the return of the requested Information.
Compensation awards by way of the Residential Institutions Redress Board established under Section 3 of the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002 (No. 13 of 2002) and any subsequent income from investment of that money are exempt from means assessment.
The person concerned must provide documentary evidence confirming that his compensation was awarded by the Residential Institutions Redress Board and that the award was subsequently invested in a rental property - under current legislation, the rent earned on that property investment would then be exempt from the means calculation.
In general, properties other than a person’s principal residence are assessable for means purposes for DA. The capital assessable is the current value less any outstanding mortgage
The formula for assessing capital for means purposes for Disability Allowance is as follows:
|
Formula |
Capital |
Means |
|
First €50,000 is disregarded |
€50,000 |
€0 |
|
€50,000 to €60,000 is assessed at €1 per €1,000 |
€10,000 |
€10 |
|
€60,00 to €70,000 is assessed at €2 per €1000 |
€10,000 |
€20 |
|
Over €70,00 is assessed at €4 per €1000 |
€200,000 |
€800 |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.