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Chapter 7 - Using Acquired Knowledge and Experience to Assist Complainants

Chapter Seven

Using Acquired Knowledge and Experience to Assist Complainants

Public bodies administer a very wide range of schemes and services and it can be difficult for individuals to be fully aware of their entitlements. Staff in the Office of the Ombudsman have acquired an in-depth knowledge and experience of a vast range of such schemes and services, some of which are complex in nature. As we see in the following two cases the Office uses this knowledge and experience to provide assistance to complainants, particularly those who are at a disadvantage because of their personal circumstances, or perhaps, are unable to present their case clearly to the public body.

Department of Social and Family Affairs - Refusal of Supplementary Welfare Allowance

An elderly man wrote to the Office and complained that his local health board had refused to provide him with financial relief in respect of his electricity bills. He explained that he suffered from a serious progressive lung disease which had been caused by his employment as a coal miner. The health board had installed an oxygen concentrator in his house which resulted in a considerable increase in his electricity bill every two months. He supplied the Office with documentary proof of his medical condition. He also supplied evidence that the health board had refused his application for Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) towards the cost of his electricity because of the level of his income from his Disablement Benefit Pension. He was also in receipt of a Constant Attendance Allowance. He appealed the decision but without success.

Having confirmed the details of the complainant's income the Office informed him that the health board's decision was correct as his income exceeded the relevant SWA limit for qualifying purposes. However, the Office considered that the complainant might be entitled to a separate benefit under the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993. This legislation, governing injury benefit, provides that a person who is injured at work or contracts an industrial disease can claim for the cost of certain expenses which are not already paid by a health board and covered under the Treatment Benefit Scheme. The latter covers such benefits as dental benefit, optical benefit, contact lenses and hearing aids. The Office discussed the case with the Disablement Benefit Section of the Department which arranged for the relevant application forms to be sent to the complainant. The Department subsequently confirmed that it had approved assistance to the complainant under this scheme whereby he would be paid �27.93 towards each two-monthly electricity bill. In addition, he was also given retrospective payments amounting to �363.14.

Department of Social and Family Affairs - Refusal of Pension Arrears

A public representative contacted the Office on behalf of a woman in her eighties who was living alone and who had been refused payment of arrears on her Contributory Old Age Pension (COAP) by the Department.

She had reached pensionable age in February 1986 but did not apply for COAP until February 1989. She was granted COAP and later she also received arrears dating back to February 1988. She applied for the full payment of arrears on the grounds of financial hardship, including utility bills and a medical bill as evidence of her current debts. She also stated that she was responsible for repairs and maintenance of her rented home. Further arrears were refused by the Department.

The Department explained that further arrears could only be granted under its guidelines which consisted of four extra-statutory conditions. The claimant had been provided with a copy of these conditions and subsequently applied for the balance of her arrears on the grounds of financial hardship. She provided utility bills as proof of current debts, but these were not considered adequate evidence, as they were ordinary recurring bills rather than an outstanding debt, which could be cleared by the payment of arrears. In addition, according to the Department, the costs which she might face in repairing and maintaining her home could not be taken into consideration, as only current debts which had already been incurred, could be considered. The Department indicated that her medical bill was very small and would not justify the payment of arrears to the claimant.

The Office contacted the claimant in order to get a full picture of her financial circumstances in terms of her income and outgoings. The matter was then discussed with the Department. It was clear from the evidence available that her post-rental income was less than the rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) being granted at the time. SWA is a means tested payment which can be granted to persons who have exceptional or urgent needs. They can be granted to persons who cannot get regular social welfare payments or those who have needs that cannot be met by their social welfare payments. The Office argued that in such circumstances the complainant, who was over eighty years of age, was experiencing hardship in servicing her liability for her rent. The Department agreed to review her case and she was awarded the arrears which amounted to �6,700.

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