Disability Allowance?

livemusic4life

It makes me so angry. People who deserve it have to wait and wait, while people playing the system get rushed through and never reassessed. Makes my blood boil. Why not take him to the CWO though. It does delay the payment of arrears though but thats not really a big deal at the end of the day.

Wish there was something we could do. What about advocacy groups?

Jasssss

Thanks livemusic4life,Yes the advocacy group for children with Disabilities were great,They filled in the forms with me .I am raging i even appealed now if it's true that the wait with Appeals is a year and over.I probably should have made a fresh application ,it might have been quicker.

livemusic4life

Jasssss wrote: »

Thanks livemusic4life,Yes the advocacy group for children with Disabilities were great,They filled in the forms with me .I am raging i even appealed now if it's true that the wait with Appeals is a year and over.I probably should have made a fresh application ,it might have been quicker.

Not sure it would have made any difference to be honest. Does seem like practically everyone gets turned down first time. Or maybe I'm just very cynical....

corkion

hi all i made my applaction for disabilty in august 2013 still wating for a answer rang longford last week could give me no answer on how long more ill be wating what a joke

corkion

hi all im still wating for a answer on my applaction on disabilty i made on august 2013 rang last week they could give me no answer on how long more ill be wating

ash23

corkion wrote: »

hi all i made my applaction for disabilty in august 2013 still wating for a answer rang longford last week could give me no answer on how long more ill be wating what a joke

I made an application in Jan 2013 and got an answer in September 2013. It is a joke.

Bof No1

Hi, I posted on another thread so apologies if you've read this already. I made my application in March this year, was automatically refused by June, continued process with Longford, re-submitting previously supplied information with strongly worded letter from my doctor. Contacted Longford by phone in August and was told I was medically accepted, waited until November to have 2 meetings with Welfare Inspector. Her report was sent to Longford on 25th November, I contacted Longford to be told first, that the report hadn't been received and a week later, to be told report was there, but deciding officer was on holiday. Phoned Longford yesterday and was told a letter would issue from the deciding officers section by the end of this week, but wouldn't tell me wether my claim was allowed, or not. Judging from other posts to this site that I've read, I think my application has been quick enough to get this far, but I've no doubt shot myself in the foot by saying that and I'll probably be going down the route of appealing, which will be another 12 to 18 months down the line. Cheers and good luck with your application, I'll post here when I receive my letter.

tony1980

Finally had some joy today. We tried ringing Longford again at lunch time, was on hold for 45 mins before we gave up. I contacted Willie O'Dea's office at 2pm via their online form. I gave my wife's details, PPS #, etc. I received a phone call at 2:40 from his office. During that 40 mins they had already contacted Longford and got some details for us. They told me that it should be processed by Monday and if I had not heard back from Longford by Tuesday, to give them a shout again. Incredible help from his office today, so speedy and efficient. I would totally recommend giving his office a shout. Here is the link http://willieodea.ie/?page_id=157 fill out the form and I would say you will get a hell of a lot further in one day than any of you have in the last year :-)

I posted a few pages back, basically my wife's disability was suspended without notice about 3 months ago now and they wanted to do a means test. Longford are an absolute joke to deal with. Hope this might help some of you!

Jasssss

Tony1980 I hope your wife gets sorted and her Disability is paid back to her with arrears .I seen Willie O Dea in action for that RTE programme .I would love to ring his office but I'm in a different county altogether.BOF if you were found medically fit for Disability ,well then it is just your means and residency that are looked at and if you meet the means as stated on their website you should be ok.I wish everyone on this forum the best of luck and have my own fingers and toes crossed for my son's application.

tony1980

Jasssss wrote: »

Tony1980 I hope your wife gets sorted and her Disability is paid back to her with arrears .I seen Willie O Dea in action for that RTE programme .I would love to ring his office but I'm in a different county altogether.BOF if you were found medically fit for Disability ,well then it is just your means and residency that are looked at and if you meet the means as stated on their website you should be ok.I wish everyone on this forum the best of luck and have my own fingers and toes crossed for my son's application.

It doesn't matter what county you are in. When you are filling in the online form, it has a list of all the counties there for you to choose, it doesn't have to be Limerick. You should fill it out and see how you get on.

Bof No1

Hi Jassss, thanks for that. Logically, I don't see a problem, as the Welfare Inspector told me that I had no means and she would be putting that in her report, BUT, in the back of my mind, I'm still thinking that they'll find some fault somewhere, not logical, I know, just human nature. Cheers, Bof No1.

Bof No1

Hi all, as stated in my earlier post, I said I'd let people know the outcome of my application when I received the promised letter,(look at earlier post). Anyway, post very late today, but two brown envelopes in the bundle, the larger contained the formal POSITIVE ACCEPTANCE of my claim and the second contained a free travel pass. Payment to be lodged to my bank account in time for Christmas and arrears to be paid at a later date. I'm one very happy puppy, but I'm thinking of all those who are still waiting and wish them the best of luck and hope they hear positive news soon. I'll continue to follow this thread and post regularly and/or in answer to other posts, many thanks to all who helped/advised in any way, cheers, Bof No1.

cms33

I Was awarded disability about 5 weeks ago first payment off 188 be in post office next week now wile I was waiting I was getting 100 a week off the S/W cause I'm only 21 now it has I Will be back back dated for the 15 months arrears Will follow Will this be the extra 88euro for each week wile I was waiting if so how long dose it take to get arrears after payment is in place

livemusic4life

cms33 wrote: »

I Was awarded disability about 5 weeks ago first payment off 188 be in post office next week now wile I was waiting I was getting 100 a week off the S/W cause I'm only 21 now it has I Will be back back dated for the 15 months arrears Will follow Will this be the extra 88euro for each week wile I was waiting if so how long dose it take to get arrears after payment is in place

My arrears took nearly 4 months to be paid. Yes, you will be paid the full difference from your claim date to your award date.

cms33

livemusic4life wrote: »

My arrears took nearly 4 months to be paid. Yes, you will be paid the full difference from your claim date to your award date.

Thanks for that ,, I dident tink they would back date that much money but I could rely do with it now

livemusic4life

cms33 wrote: »

Thanks for that ,, I dident tink they would back date that much money but I could rely do with it now

ah they will, but they do take their sweet time getting around to it. At least you can work out what you're owed.

Cyvad

Hi all.
I'm new to boards and hope I can get some help with my situation. Following an accident in early 2011, I now only have limited power,sensation and constant pain in my right (dominant ) hand. I also suffer severe pain in the wrist, arm and shoulder as a result. My doctor, physio and occupational therapist will not sign me fit to return to my job and all have written letters to that effect all stating that this islikely to to be the case for at least the next 12 months.
I applied for DA and have had my application refused. I have appealed and got a letter saying it was referred to the appeals board. What do I do now? It also says that their ruling will be final? What happens in that case? I would love to return to work as my job is still open but it's just not possible. I'm at my wits end here as is my wife.
Thanks for reading.

cms33

Cyvad wrote: »

Hi all.
I'm new to boards and hope I can get some help with my situation. Following an accident in early 2011, I now only have limited power,sensation and constant pain in my right (dominant ) hand. I also suffer severe pain in the wrist, arm and shoulder as a result. My doctor, physio and occupational therapist will not sign me fit to return to my job and all have written letters to that effect all stating that this islikely to to be the case for at least the next 12 months.
I applied for DA and have had my application refused. I have appealed and got a letter saying it was referred to the appeals board. What do I do now? It also says that their ruling will be final? What happens in that case? I would love to return to work as my job is still open but it's just not possible. I'm at my wits end here as is my wife.
Thanks for reading.

IT takes a long time to get but all you can do if you get refused again is keep appealing it,, I was refused 5 times then last month got awarded it an that was with no new medical letters was the same ill Ness I had when I first applied for it as long as your doctor has said you Will be unfit for work for the next 12 months or more you should be awarded it ,, I hope you have some look with it as I know wat the stress off trying to get it is like they make you feel your trying to scam them

Cyvad

I was on SWA but then my wife got a wee part time job and claimed the FIS. The FIS payment is a lot lower than my SWA was. Soon as she was awarded FIS my payment was stopped. This leaves us considerably worse off every week as a result. As if things weren't tight enough. Contacted them by phone today and was told it would be several months before a decision was made. The letter I have also states that I can't appeal the decision again.

Bof No1

Cyvad, how many times have you applied for DA? If the letter you have says this is your final appeal, you've obviously appealed before? If not, is this refusal from the Dept. in Longford, giving you 21 days to reply? There are other threads in the Accessibility, Mobility and Disability section, make sure you read all the pertinent ones, whether they're old or not, there's a lot of information there that will help you make sense of your situation.

Cyvad

This is my first time applying and first time appealing. I received a letter from Longford to say I had been refused and that I had 21 days to appeal. I did so and then received another letter to say it was gone to the appeals board and their decision would be final one way or another

livemusic4life

Cyvad wrote: »

This is my first time applying and first time appealing. I received a letter from Longford to say I had been refused and that I had 21 days to appeal. I did so and then received another letter to say it was gone to the appeals board and their decision would be final one way or another

Can i give you a little advice? I hope you don't mind. Just that some of us have been through this before.

Write to them and ask for an oral review. This means that you will be seen by a medical assessor. I had been turned down 4 times before i was given that piece of info from someone who knew someone. You stand a much better chance if a doctor sees you in person because they can see what you are and aren't capable of. Notes on a piece of paper are easy to ignore. A person suffering in front of them isn't.

If you are in receipt of any other illness payment like illness benefit, occupational injuries or disablement benefit for example, which require medical assessments at various intervals, they can schedule you to be assessed for both together.

Best of luck and let us know how you get on

Bof No1

Cyvad wrote: »

This is my first time applying and first time appealing. I received a letter from Longford to say I had been refused and that I had 21 days to appeal. I did so and then received another letter to say it was gone to the appeals board and their decision would be final one way or another

Cyvad, your initial refusal by Longford happens automatically anyway, or so it seems, from my own situation and the majority of other posts. To the best of my knowledge, even if you're refused this time, you're entitled to one more appeal and that should definitely be in front of a panel, ie. an oral review, as suggested by 'livemusic4life'. In my own case, after my initial refusal I went back to my GP, who was horrified to learn that I'd been refused on medical grounds, without having been seen/examined by anybody. He wrote me a strongly worded letter, intimating that he had been a doctor for many years but had never heard of psychic examination and this was something he'd have to investigate for his practise. Chin up and keep fighting, if you're entitled, you're entitled.

Jasssss

Well Folks Just got a letter saying my child's appeal allowed.I dont know what happens now,I think the file goes back to longford and they go through means etc.Maybe someone can tell me what happens next. Cyvad, i'l tell you what happened to me.I made an application for my child and it was refused,the letter stated that I could have it reviewed if I had any additional medical evidence within 14 days which I did,This was also refused.Disability Section in Longford where finished with the Application. I was then given the option to appeal to the Appeals Office within 21 days in Dublin Which I did and on Appeal it was over turned and allowed by the Appeals Officer.If there was any advice I could give you and I dont claim to know it all because for the best part of this process I have been stressed and in tears some days over this.You will need a letter from a doctor or specialist to say that you are unfit for work for a period of one year or more and that you are substantially restricted in undertaking work that would be otherwise suited to a person of the same age and experience.This really should nail it as these are the qualifying conditions set out by the Department assuming your means etc are within the guidelines.I wish you all the best.

Bof No1

Hi Jasssss, delighted to see that you've been sorted as regards your sons claim, not before time I have to say. The fact that you had to appeal to Dublin obviously moved the goalposts as regards anything I can tell you from my own experience. I wasn't told anything other than that I'd been medically accepted and only discovered this, when I made a phone call to find out what the story was with my claim. Until the brown envelope fell through my door, I didn't actually know whether my claim was successful or not. Yes, you will be assessed as to your means by a local Inspector and you'll have to have everything just so, all the i's dotted and t's crossed. If you need any further info as regards this, just shout. Delighted for you, cheers.

livemusic4life

Jassss I'm so thrilled for you. Its a disgrace how hard they are making it for people.

Cyvad

Great news to get Jasssss! Hopefully I will have a similar outcome. Have to go and hone my hoop jumping skills

Jasssss

Ah thank you everyone,I am really chuffed. Livemusic4life, I want to say a special thank you to you because anytime I needed to know anything about the process you always answered without fail, not only to me but to other posts aswell. I will try and keep on checking this post to see how everyone is getting on.Thanks again.

livemusic4life

Jasssss wrote: »

Ah thank you everyone,I am really chuffed. Livemusic4life, I want to say a special thank you to you because anytime I needed to know anything about the process you always answered without fail, not only to me but to other posts aswell. I will try and keep on checking this post to see how everyone is getting on.Thanks again.

Jeez, girl, no need for that. Thats what we're here for. It was a good source for me when i was applying. Just goes to show that people still do help each other where possible. Pass on the love

Bof No1

Just a follow up to my own situation. Looked at my bank account this morning and had to do a couple of double takes, all the arrears lodged to my account, as well as my weekly payment. Just under 3 weeks after first payment lodged to my bank and now all the arrears paid. I thought all arrears were paid by cheque, but maybe that's in the case of people who use the Post Office? Anyway, I can now start paying people back and clear some debts, maybe 2014 will be a good year!