Man claims interview for disability benefit 'did not mention illness'
Disability benefit interviews have changed, and the emphasis has moved away from the patients' illness, according to one man whose wife has lost her allowance.
The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, confirmed this week that the refusal rate for applications for disability allowances stands at over 50% and it is rising.
Many who were previously entitled to benefits say they too are being cut off.
One man's wife suffers from depression, her symptoms include insomnia and hyperventilation.
She has been in receipt of the disability allowance for the last eight years, but it has now been pulled.
Her husband said they will appeal the decision, but that could take a year, so in the meantime she will apply for the jobseekers allowance.
Her husband said: "The interview changed. In this interview it took all of five or 10 minutes.
"There was no mention of her illness, no discussion about her illness. There were questions about who she lived with, how long she was out of work."
The husband then claimed that the interviewer then asked which medication his wife was on.
The husband said: "She is on a waiting list for an operation, she can't stand for long periods of time so she is getting some operation on her foot, her leg.
"He said 'well take off your shoe there', she took off her shoe and he looked round the desk and said 'that looks fine to me'."
