Extending mobility payment could cost €148m more, says department

Taxpayers have been effectively told to choose between paying €100m to €148m more a year to extend the mobility allowance to the elderly — or allowing cuts to everyone getting the help.

In a response to queries from the Irish Examiner, the Department of Health said removing the illegal age restriction barring first-time applicants aged 66 or over from the State help would “ignore” its “very serious financial constraints”.

Despite admitting it had broken the law for 12 years by failing to end the policy, the department said its budget problems mean the issue was unlikely to change.

If it is forced to back down, it said taxpayers would pay up to €148m more to extend the service — or allow cuts for those already receiving the help.

“Indicative possible costs using data from the National Disability Survey indicate that, at a yearly [mobility allowance] rate of €2,502, the cost of removing the upper age limit could be an additional €148m.

“While it is difficult to predict, taking the various factors into account the additional cost could, at least, be in excess of €100m,” a spokesperson said.

Responding to a question on the rule change’s financial implications, she added: “We accepted the ombudsman’s findings and recommendation [in the original Apr 2011 report].

“However, in a footnote she expressed no view as to the terms of the revision of the scheme other than that the revised scheme should be compliant with the [Equal Status] Acts.

“The department is not in a position to amend as recommended in the [Oct 2012] follow-up. Implementation of the recommendations would create liabilities the State could not afford. We must also consider the fact individuals have been in receipt of this allowance for some time and any changes to eligibility or rates could result in hardship.”

The change price tag — the reason for the threatened cuts to the existing 4,500 allowance recipients — has been disputed by Disability Federation of Ireland chief executive, John Dolan, as the allowance costs just €12m a year at present.

He also suggested the Government was “beefing up” the cost by counting all 59,000 people with disabilities over the age of 65 and using the highest rate of €208.50 as a base cost, despite the fact many of these would not pass the means or disability tests needed to get the allowance.

The row came after a highly critical investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman said the department has knowingly allowed the illegal discriminatory age restriction to cut costs.

The over-66 age block has been in place since the allowance was introduced in 1979. However, it breaches the Equal Status Act 2000 — a situation Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly describes as “a serious breach of trust” and law in an exclusive article in today’s Irish Examiner.

Ms O’Reilly said the department has “clearly” been aware of the age rule’s illegality since at least 2008, when Government had to remove a similar cap on motorised transport grants.

She said the State may face compensation claims from people refused the allowance on age grounds.