Letters to the Editor: Disability allowance system has let me down
Unlike jobseeker’s benefit, disability allowance is means tested.
In response to Paul Hosford’s article — ‘Disability allowance appeals surge as thousands of rejected applications later approved’ ( , November 25) — I too would love to see an internal audit carried out on the disability allowance sector regarding their appeals process.
In early January 2014 I was granted disability allowance, having been denied it twice, if not three times.
My original application was furnished with all completed paperwork, including letters from my GP and consultant regarding my illness, ME.
When I applied for disability allowance, I had already been on illness benefit and off work for months; the reason for my application was because I was about to lose access to illness benefit as that payment is only made for so long.
When I requested an appeal, I was asked to attend a meeting in person, and so I sat in front of an inspector from the disability allowance sector, and presented the exact same information as had been provided in my previous attempts.
After the appeal, my application was granted.
Prior to falling ill at the age of 30, I’d accumulated eight years of PRSI stamps as I’d worked full-time.
Had I had the misfortune to lose my job, I would have qualified for jobseeker’s benefit at the top rate of pay. But because I had the bad luck to fall ill, and the naivety to believe the system was designed to catch you if you fell, I was instead tasked with fighting the system for €86 a week.
Unlike jobseeker’s benefit, disability allowance is means tested, and because my husband works, I never qualified for the top rate.
I’d love to understand the rationale behind the disability allowance system.
Neil Kenny’s article — ‘Who Decides Who Belongs in our Schools?’ ( , November 14) — would have us believe the only obstacles standing between children and special class places are schools and patrons.
It is important to understand that the final decision as to whether special classes open or not lies with the National Council for Special Education and the Department of Education and Youth (DEY).
Our school has been campaigning for sanction to open additional autism classes and despite having identified a huge need for these places, we are being told no.
In Stapolin Educate Together NS, we believe that every child deserves an appropriate school place.
We strive every day to try to provide that for all children in our school community but, for us, the biggest barrier is getting sanction for extra classes.
Every year we know of children who do not have an appropriate school place.
Timely sanction of enough classes to ensure this doesn’t happen has to be a priority for the DEY.
We cannot continue to allow the education of our children to be sacrificed because of delayed decisions.
Hildegarde Naughton, the newly appointed minister for education, speaking on on RTÉ Radio 1, was asked if she could guarantee that all children with additional needs would get the place they need in school.
She said yes, that is the position she wants to be in.
We really hope she will keep that promise.
Theo McDonald’s claim that Ireland already has an abundant number of homes and we can resolve the housing crisis by returning vacant dwellings to use is not correct — ''Abundance’ all around us in empty buildings' ( , July 29).
We should, of course, reuse vacant dwellings and end the dereliction which blights many of our cities and towns.
However, Ireland already has one of the lowest rates of vacant dwellings in the EU and vacancy rates are particularly low in our cities, where housing demand is strongest.
On their own, vacant dwellings will not satisfy housing need.
We need to build new houses too, and if our population continues to grow, we need to build a lot of new houses.
This is because Ireland also has one of the lowest ratios of dwellings to households in the EU.
The Housing Commission (of which I was a member) estimated that Ireland has a deficit/ undersupply of between 212,500 and 256,000 homes.
The commission also estimated that annual output of 60,000 new homes is required to meet future demand.
This suggests we need to add 1.5m dwellings to our housing stock of 2.2m by mid century.
I share some of Theo McDonald’s concerns about the solutions to these challenges proposed by John Collison and Progress Ireland.
However, John Collison is absolutely right about the scale of the housing challenge facing this country and the need to take radical action to increase new house building in order to tackle it.
Central to the question of statutory regulation for psychotherapy is the importance of prioritising the patient’s wellbeing and best practice amidst diverse therapeutic approaches and challenges.
Mental health disorders are prevalent in Ireland, affecting more than 40% of adults, with these services under significant strain due to constant demands.
Additionally, there is an overwhelming demand for services for adolescents and children who present for therapy suffering from a number of mental health issues that impinge on their growth and development.
It is well researched that psychotherapy, alone or as an element in a multimodal programme delivered by a multidisciplinary team, can provide critical, ongoing support for adults with depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, alcohol and drug abuse, relationship problems, adjustment to physical illnesses, to name but a few.
Psychotherapeutic services can help to limit the need for hospitalisation and maintain people’s ability to lead productive lives.
To date, Ireland’s training standards have maintained a rigorous emphasis on extensive training, personal therapy, and ongoing supervision of the psychotherapist — these high standards underscore the complexity of the psychological needs of the adults, adolescents, and children accessing services.
Coru’s revised standards of proficiency will not only impede the quality of these services, but may also put vulnerable clients at risk.
The repercussions will potentially result in longer waiting lists and increased admission to hospitals.
Why would Coru reduce the rigorous and high-calibre standards that have been embedded in the training and formation of psychotherapists for over 40 years?
Why would Coru undermine the best practices endorsed by the European Psychotherapy Association and countless European professional bodies, by removing the parity that guarantees Irish psychotherapists equal standing with their Northern Irish and European colleagues?
I am bewildered as to how a south Dublin local authority spent €750,000 on the construction of a new entrance to a park — consisting of 14 steps and a ramp — in Mount Merrion.
Ostensibly, works to renovate the entrance to Deer Park were needed due to problems with accessibility.
I have seen the picture, and I have to say that it looks very ordinary: A set of steps with a handrail and a ramp, and it cost €750,000.
One would imagine after the infamous €330,000 Leinster House bike shed, lessons would be learned.
There appears to still be a money-doesn’t-matter culture when it comes to public finances.
The 21st US president, Chester A Arthur, once said: “The extravagant expenditure of public money is an evil not to be measured by the value of that money to the people who are taxed for it.”
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