Returning Irish refused social welfare payments

RETURNING Irish emigrants are being refused vital social welfare payments because of an “increasingly strict interpretation” of the residency requirements, Fine Gael social protection spokesman Michael Ring has claimed.

Figures obtained by Mr Ring showed a significant increase in the number of Irish people being refused access to payments such as carer’s allowance over the past two years because of a failure to satisfy the habitual residency requirements.

The condition was introduced in 2004 to safeguard the system from abuse.

More than 3,000 Irish people have been refused benefits on returning home because they did not satisfy requirements set down by the Habitual Residence Condition (HRC). Some 95 Irish citizens have been refused social welfare payments this year alone.

A spokesman for the Cross Care Migrant Project said that vulnerable Irish emigrants returning to Ireland were being caused “unacceptable suffering” under this strict interpretation of the rules.

Further, the Department of Social Protection figures were “only a very small part of the picture” and highlighted the cases of returning Irish emigrants who have no funds, he added.

There are several reports of returned emigrants — having spent a lifetime in England — coming back to Ireland, being refused welfare payments and now being forced to sleep rough. Mr Ring TD spoke of cases brought to his attention where Irish people were now homeless because they did not meet the HRC.

He called the agency’s moves “a crude costsaving measure” which are leading to severe hardship, and in some cases destitution, for people who are Irish. Mr Ring says the bill was never intended to be used as a weapon against returning emigrants.

“When it came through the Dáil at that time, it was made very clear that the habitual residence condition was to deal with welfare tourism.

“In the last six months there seems to be a new directive from the department — they seem to have tightened up in relation to this and this is affecting Irish emigrants… who had to leave because they had no other choice.”

Mr Ring also pointed out that many people returning to Ireland did so to take care of elderly or infirm loved ones, thus saving the State large sums of money by providing voluntary care.

The Department of Social Protection said the purpose of the HRC was to prevent abuse by people who have “little or no established connection with Ireland” and have no entitlement to welfare payments.