Can you claim disability allowance and a Fas training allowance?

Freiheit

A friend is intending doing so and said that they would be claiming an amazing 440 for disability and a Fas training course for people with disabilities, surely they cannot claim both a training and disability allowance?.

gustafo

well i know i guy who is on disability and he did a CE scheme for a year and he was able to get his disability payment as normal and also get 220 euro on the CE scheme

No, your friend is wrong - on the Fas course they will stop the DA and recieve Fas allowance.

snuffysshop

yes your friend can get both payments, she has to apply for an exemption first but they are generally giving in cases of training so she would get the 440

steven22

No this is wrong i am 99.99% sure of it. The rules changed back a few years ago and the only people afaik allowed to recieve two payments while in FAS are those on Lone Parents. Your friend will get a training allowance worth 31.80 plus their DA.

cee_jay

You can get an exemption to do rehabilitative training/work while on disability allowance.
If this is a FAS course, the FAS training allowance would be then considered as means against your Disability Allowance, so in essence you are receiving the 2 payments, but your Disability Allowance would be reduced due to the means.

This is correct, I also attended a Fas course for people with disabilities, you recieve equal to your DA with a bonus from Fas which varies a little depending on the place you are studying, but only by a few euro. The only case in which a person can retain their DA and recieve a Fas allowance is in cases where the DA exceeds the Fas payment - in this case the person will recieve the Fas allowance and also recieve the balance up to their original payment from DA.

If everyone on DA could attend Fas and recieve 440 a week, this would make a complete mockery of the social welfare and Fas!

Bubs99

Im on the Disability Allowance due to being epileptic but Im willing to work a few hours a week to keep me occupied etc., so i went to my local FAS office and spoke to the lady in the office. She told me that if I did the CE scheme, Id still get my full Disability Allowance but I cannot earn any more than 120euros...say if I earned 150e in that one week, they'd take 30e from me and Id still have the 120e along with the Disability Allowance. You dont get travel expenses etc. Also the average CE scheme working hours a week is 20.
People on Disability Allowance already have a free travel pass anyway so no worries there.
If you want to earn even more than that then you can go on the Back to Work Allowance (that includes Disability Allowance receivers) and they take away 25% of your weekly allowance for the 1st year while you work and earn (you may also lose a fraction of rent allowance etc. too), then the 2nd year you lose 50% and the 3rd year 75% and so on. If you change your mind or fall ill again, you can go straight back to the full Disability Allowance (no extra earnings obviously).

chasm

Bubs99 wrote: »

Im on the Disability Allowance due to being epileptic but Im willing to work a few hours a week to keep me occupied etc., so i went to my local FAS office and spoke to the lady in the office. She told me that if I did the CE scheme, Id still get my full Disability Allowance but I cannot earn any more than 120euros...say if I earned 150e in that one week, they'd take 30e from me and Id still have the 120e along with the Disability Allowance. You dont get travel expenses etc. Also the average CE scheme working hours a week is 20.
People on Disability Allowance already have a free travel pass anyway so no worries there.
If you want to earn even more than that then you can go on the Back to Work Allowance (that includes Disability Allowance receivers) and they take away 25% of your weekly allowance for the 1st year while you work and earn (you may also lose a fraction of rent allowance etc. too), then the 2nd year you lose 50% and the 3rd year 75% and so on. If you change your mind or fall ill again, you can go straight back to the full Disability Allowance (no extra earnings obviously).

I think back to work allowance closed to new applicants last year.

Rockery Woman

I know a guy with aspergers syndrome, he is on a FAS CE scheme and also gets a disability allowance.

Balagan

chasm wrote: »

I think back to work allowance closed to new applicants last year.

It did but now there is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA)
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/social-welfare-payments/social-welfare-payments-and-work/back_to_work_enterprise_allowance

chasm

Balagan wrote: »

It did but now there is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA)
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/social-welfare-payments/social-welfare-payments-and-work/back_to_work_enterprise_allowance

They would have to be starting their own business to receive that though.

Bubs99

Thank you for letting me know that about the Back to Work Allowance finishing.