FTP application rejected - proof of residency?

LegacyUser

Hi everyone,

Wondering if I could be pointed in the right direction. A friend's father has moved to Ireland from another EU country. He's on an invalidity pension from his home country which he's not changing or looking to move to the Irish one.

For similar reasons to being on the Invalidity Pension (his home country categorizes him at 70% disablement I think), we thought he should apply for a Free Travel Pass. He got the birth certificate from his home country and marked the name of the payment on the form and sent it all off to DSP. He got a rejection letter not long after, stating that he didn't meet the eligibility requirements. I gave a call on his behalf to the office, looking for a review officer. The case couldn't really be discussed with me being a man in the middle, but they said they'd review the decision.


A couple of days later he got another letter in the post, listing out a series of requirements to show that the guy is resident in the country. Some of them include things like a letter from his home country authorities showing that he's registered as having left the country (which he's done). But others include including a utility bill with his name on it - which he doesn't have as he's living in rental accommodation and are in the landlord's name or in the name of another housemate who doesn't want to change it.

Another requirement is a letter showing "registration" and having attended a GP here. I called the local GP's surgery, and they don't understand what I mean by this registration thing, saying that people show up and are attended by the next available GP. He doesn't seem to want to go to a GP here and certainly not if it costs €60, though his prescription meds won't last forever either.

Finally, they want to see a written record of the payments that he receives. This is done online and via standing order to his account, so the only records he has access to in Ireland are the payment amounts that reach his account once per month. They don't include the name of the payment for instance.

They're at a loss as his eligibility seems clear-cut and they can't provide all of the required information, at least not easily or without cost.

Does anyone have any advice for this situation or how it could be resolved?

LegacyUser

Thought I'd make it clearer:

Someone moved from another EU country to Ireland early this year, and applied for the Free Travel Pass as he has an invalidity pension and has limited mobility.

The DSP refused his application as he "didn't meet the criteria", even though he does.

I called about it on the man's behalf as his English is not great, and was told it would be looked into.

We got a letter a couple of days later, asking for proof of residency such as a household bill (which he doesn't have in his name, just a rent book), a proof of "being registered and having attended a GP here" and other proofs like proof of being paid the foreign invalidity pension.

My question is, surely this is a very onerous requirement and why was this not an issue when the PPS card was provided to him? As the same residency requirement applies, and the FTP application was his reason for requesting a PPSN? What has going to a GP got to do with residency?

Btw: I called the local clinic near where he lives, they don't have a concept of being "registered" as a GP, and typically one doesn't get to choose what GP attends a patient.