Disability allowance rules ‘need clarity’

The Department of Social Protection has been urged to clarify if it has changed how disability allowance eligibility rules are interpreted after a drastic rise in rejected application numbers.

Fianna Fáil health spokesman Billy Kelleher made the call after it was revealed the number of people being refused the vital state support has jumped from 40% in the final three years of the boom to 61% in 2012.

The figures, reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, also show 4,832 applications were turned down between January and April, meaning the 2012 annual rate is set to reach 15,000 — double the Celtic Tiger levels.