Welfare dependency - Disability Discrimination?

theguzman

Irish citizens wishing to apply for family reunification for spouses/children are required to have earned not less than €40,000 over the previous three years combined prior to the application and not to have been reliant on state benefits for two years prior to the application.

Just looking for thoughts and opinions on this but it seems very unfair to me.
The above is a requirement for family reunification in Ireland, however it seems to me to take no consideration for people who are living with medical conditions and disabilities.

E.g. An Irish citizen is suffering from some permanent disability or crippling medical condition, he/she is medically unable to work, the Irish citizen finds love with a non-EU citizen either living here or abroad, when they marry the above quoted text is put as an obstacle in their way to prevent the issuance of a Stamp 4 Residency Permit to join their spouse and live together in Ireland. Due to their disability it is not possible to work and thus earn the prerequisite €40k over the previous 3 years.

This is surely a form of discrimination against pwd, a particularly unfair disadvantage to a group of people who would have limited dating and romance opportunities leading to marriage to begin with.

I have a friend a young man in his thirties who was left in a wheelchair after an accident in his mid-twenties and he has married a Filipina woman who he met online and she was able to join him here after their marriage in her country. The man received a 7 figure sum in a compensation payout and would not be financially dependent on the Government, however e.g. had he been born disabled or not received such a large compensation payment the above ruling would have prevented his wife from joining him it seems.

I have developed an interest in these type of issues recently and I wonder what would our resident legal eagles think of this and what would happen? A case for the European Court of Human Rights perhaps? Or does the Govt issue discretion to disabled people for their spouses to come here, often times a disabled person having a spouse relieves the cost of caregiving required and thus would save the state money.

cobhguy28

theguzman wrote: »

Just looking for thoughts and opinions on this but it seems very unfair to me.
The above is a requirement for family reunification in Ireland, however it seems to me to take no consideration for people who are living with medical conditions and disabilities.

E.g. An Irish citizen is suffering from some permanent disability or crippling medical condition, he/she is medically unable to work, the Irish citizen finds love with a non-EU citizen either living here or abroad, when they marry the above quoted text is put as an obstacle in their way to prevent the issuance of a Stamp 4 Residency Permit to join their spouse and live together in Ireland. Due to their disability it is not possible to work and thus earn the prerequisite €40k over the previous 3 years.

This is surely a form of discrimination against pwd, a particularly unfair disadvantage to a group of people who would have limited dating and romance opportunities leading to marriage to begin with.

I have a friend a young man in his thirties who was left in a wheelchair after an accident in his mid-twenties and he has married a Filipina woman who he met online and she was able to join him here after their marriage in her country. The man received a 7 figure sum in a compensation payout and would not be financially dependent on the Government, however e.g. had he been born disabled or not received such a large compensation payment the above ruling would have prevented his wife from joining him it seems.

I have developed an interest in these type of issues recently and I wonder what would our resident legal eagles think of this and what would happen? A case for the European Court of Human Rights perhaps? Or does the Govt issue discretion to disabled people for their spouses to come here, often times a disabled person having a spouse relieves the cost of caregiving required and thus would save the state money.

Being disabled isn't the issue, it is whether you can afford to support the person. lots of disabled people work and earn a living just like lots of able body people don't work and don't earn a living.

There is no discrimination based on disability.

Sonrisa

The Minister has discretion to grant a visa to someone where the sponsor does not earn the required income limit: it's persuading them to use the discretion is the problem.