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Disability Allowance Case 4

Question At Issue:

Whether the appellant satisfied the medical condition governing eligibility for disability allowance.

Background:

The appellant was a single man in his early fifties who had applied for disability allowance on the advice of his doctor. He had been in receipt of unemployment assistance on a long-term basis. He had been examined by a medical assessor of the Department of Social and Family Affairs who concluded that he did not meet the medical criteria for disability allowance. A Deciding Officer rejected his claim on that basis. Arising from his appeal, he was referred for a second medical examination and was again deemed not to meet the qualifying criteria. In support of his appeal, his doctor furnished details of his medical condition and indicated that, in his opinion, he would not be capable of sustained physical work on a daily basis.

Oral Hearing:

This was a domiciliary hearing where the Appeals Officer determined that the circumstances of the case warranted him calling to the appellant’s home, with the appellant’s permission, to conduct the oral hearing. The appellant was not accompanied during the hearing.

The appellant outlined his circumstances saying that he had been reared with his grandparents on their farm and had primary level education only. He had been living for the past 14 years in a caravan on his cousin’s farm. He had never had insurable employment, only casual work as an agricultural labourer. He said that he helped out on the farm when he could. He reported that he did not like to go out and that, apart from collecting his social welfare payment every Friday, he did not leave home. He referred to a visit to his doctor the previous January when he had to wait for several hours and spoke of the anxiety this had caused him. He said that he did not like travelling in cars as it made him feel hot and uncomfortable. He was worried about the condition of the caravan and said that he had enquired about a newer caravan but that the cost was prohibitive. He indicated that he had declined to avail of new accommodation offered to him by his cousins.

Consideration of the Appeals Officer:

The Appeals Officer observed that the appellant lived in a dilapidated thirty-year old caravan, parked close to the cottage his cousins lived in. He considered his living conditions to be grim. In his view, the appellant had become reclusive, interacting with the wider community only to the extent that was necessary.

Disability allowance is payable where an applicant is substantially restricted in finding suitable employment, having regard to education, age and work experience. The Appeals Officer considered that, in the appellant’s case, suitable employment would be of a manual nature, in agriculture or construction, and that it would probably require a capacity to operate modern farm/construction equipment. He considered that the appellant might have some limited capacity for light work having regard to his diminished physical ability due to his ongoing medical conditions. However, also taking into account his basic level of education, his lack of work experience outside agriculture, his withdrawn lifestyle and his remote rural location, the Appeals Officer concluded that he was substantially restricted in finding suitable employment in line with the qualifying conditions for receipt of disability allowance.

Outcome:

Appeal allowed.

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