Disability allowance - Are genuine cases denied?

As if disabled people were not already carrying a heavy burden, it is worrying to learn that three out of every five applications for disability allowances have been turned down by the State.

It is not clear whether the sharp rise on earlier years, as reflected in a raft of statistics, is the result of a more aggressive vetting system, as claimed by Opposition TDs.

Not so, according to the Department of Social Protection, which argues that no changes have been implemented in the underlying eligibility conditions for disability allowance in recent years.