Disability and CE Scheme

orlanemo

I thought I needed to share my experience over the last few months as I thought it might be useful to others out there. I looked for previous posts on boards.ie but couldn't find one that dealt with this subject specifically.

Back in March I saw an advertisement for a CE Scheme with an organisation I respect and would like to learn from. I rang the DA in Longford to find out what the procedure was for applying and if there was anything I should be aware of. The response was something to the effect of

"ah you are grand, apply for it, you probably wont get it anyway"

Followed by this response when I asked about transitioning from the CE Scheme back to the DA

"Ah yeah that's easy enough, you just get in contact with us and you go back on the DA then"

Fast forward 6 months in which time I got the job and finally got Garda Clearance to start. I went into the FAS coordinator. She made a few cagey comments like "Have you checked with DA about what happens when you leave the CE Scheme" "I wouldn't want you to be worse off when you leave here" and "I'm hearing things from others working in this area"

Yeah so I'm getting the message at this point and off I toddle to call DA in Longford. So after the prerequisite first hang up which they did after 15 minutes on hold (is it just me or do they always seem to hang up on you at least once before you get to talk to someone?) I got through after another 30 minutes on hold. Here is the information I got this time;

"There is a random medical questionnaire which needs to filled in. Individuals are chosen at random and it is to ascertain the ability to work and whether they should be getting a payment of this kind or not"

"The is a 6 month "backlog" for these to be processed. We suggest that during this time that applicants contact their Community Welfare Office"

Well at least I got through to someone who was honest this time. I asked her is there plans for re-deployment to this area to deal with the backlog to which she replied; "No. This time is more likely to increase as we have less and less staff"

On side note this could be me and my wild imagination but it really sounded like she put particular emphasis on the word "random". The kind of doublespeak that actually means the majority have to fill out the medical questionnaire. And what happens with this questionnaire? It is accessed by their board of doctors. So to me that sounds exactly reapplying for DA. There is no smooth transition as alluded to by my previous contact with the department.

I could go on and on about this whole thing but the important thing for me is that other people are warned of this. I made the decision not to take up the scheme. I could not risk it after what I went through to get DA in the first place and the subsequent years of ill-heath I have suffered. I couldn't expose myself to that inhumanity again.

This information is not available through their information pages. I contacted a person working with people with disabilities and they had not heard of any of the above. Is this a backdoor way of scooting people off DA? Whatever it is there is a distinct lack of transparency and easily accessible information.

danjo-xx

Plenty of food for thought there all right, just to add that anyone on a CE scheme and getting 'double payments' e.g. CE + DA should be ok when exiting CE as they are still in payment for DA.

These double payments will end on 31.12.2014

orlanemo

I have an appointment with a "Facilitator" in the Department of Social Protection. So hopefully I will be able to get better information about this issue. I am recieving mixed messages everytime I contact them.

I have been advised to record any future phone calls with Disability Allowance. I wish I had been doing this since the start. Might be good advice for anyone out there with their dealings with the Department.

skw91

PM sent, anybody a definite answer ? I am in the same boat.

orlanemo

orlanemo wrote: »

I have an appointment with a "Facilitator" in the Department of Social Protection. So hopefully I will be able to get better information about this issue. I am recieving mixed messages everytime I contact them.

I have been advised to record any future phone calls with Disability Allowance. I wish I had been doing this since the start. Might be good advice for anyone out there with their dealings with the Department.

I've been to see the Facilitator in Department of Social Protection. She was a breath of fresh air for me in my dealings with the department. She used the phrase I use regularly about people on Disability:

We are afraid to raise our head above the parapet fro fear of it being shot off!

This meeting was aranged for me through the adult guidence service. This is a free service available to any adult and is available in in every locality in Ireland. It is run by the Education and Training Board (ETB). The ETB is the new name for the VEC and the training wing of FAS. You can find details for your local service through them.

The Adult Guidence Counsellor I met was fantastic. She approached my case from an holistic point of view and we talked about a "life plan" rather than a career path. This was a really helpful approach for someone with a disability. There is a lot of talk about "Activation" in Social Welfare and Career services and although this approach might be fine for someone on jobseekers, it may not be appropriate for everyone with a disability. We need a healthy and sustainable approach to employment.

The adult guidence cousellor put me in touch with the Facilitator in The Dept. Of Social Protection. I had a great conversation with her about my experiences. I will be back in touch with her in a week or two about CE stuff as ahe is on holidays right now.

One of the main things I have garnered from my conversations with the facilitator and the adult guidence counsellor is the idea of urban myths around the area of disability. I pointed out my mixed experience with trying to information from DA to the faiciltator. She said she would try to get a clearer answer for me.

On the other hand anyone out there who is confused about what they are entitled to I'd suggest that they don't suffer alone. Talk to someone in Adult Guidence in you locality. They can get answers for us, connect into oficialdom, advocate for us and maintain our anonymity/confidentiality while we seek clarification. This is their job. They are paid for this work and it is a free service.

Kitkat13

Hi Orlanemo and any others who have info,

Just wondering if theres any update on being on disability allowance and then opting to go on a CE scheme, do u definitely have to reapply for disability after?

Thanks for posts on this!