More people were refused Disability Allowance than number granted the payment  

The Disability Federation of Ireland said the organisation is concerned at the high rate of refusal for the means-tested payment.

Disability advocates have called for a probe after new figures show more people were refused the Disability Allowance last year than the number granted the payment.

John Dolan, CEO of the Disability Federation of Ireland, said the organisation was concerned at the high rate of refusal for what is a means-tested payment, and wants an Oireachtas committee to investigate.

Data from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection show 13,989 applications were turned down, while 13,298 claims processed last year were granted.

Those applications included some leftover from 2020, and the department received 20,599 new applications for Disability Allowance in 2021.

The figures also show that more than half of cases refused later appealed were later granted, in whole or in part or due to a revised decision by the department.

There were 5,575 appeals on disability allowance decisions last year, almost half of which (2,611) were allowed. In another 101 cases the appeal was partly allowed and a revised decision was made in another 643 cases. Just 2,178 appeals were disallowed, with another 42 withdrawn.

Mr Dolan said the long-awaited Indecon Report on the cost of disability was published last year and no-one in government or public bodies had contested its conclusion that people with a disability faced additional costs of living.

He said those with a disability were also likely to spend more time at home, at a time when there were serious concerns about rising living costs and inflation generally.

"The Oireachtas Social Protection Committee needs to examine this and these figures in the context of the acknowledge that there are extra costs of living for disabled people that are not being met," he said.

The federation has previously said poverty is a particularly acute issue for people with disabilities, with the at-risk of poverty rate for those not at work due to disability or health conditions at 33.7%. That figure is more than double the rate of the general population and the highest of any principal economic group.

It said this poverty is exacerbated by the many additional costs of disability that families face, as well as a lack of employment opportunities and a lower national spend on social protection for people with disabilities in Ireland compared to other EU countries.

The figures from the department also show that during 2021, 39 people in receipt of Disability Allowance were found to no longer meet the medical criteria for the scheme and had their payment stopped.