Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 March 2026
638. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the average duration of time recipients have remained on disability allowance; the number of recipients on the scheme for more than five years; and the annual exit rate from the scheme in each of the years 2020 to 2025. [16713/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraFor Disability Allowance claims that were awarded and paying at the end of January 2026, the average claim duration was 10 years. There were 115,563 claims with durations exceeding 5 years. Durations are based on entitlement periods and may include periods where payments did not issue to the customer.
The number of people who exited the scheme in each of the years 2020 to 2025 is detailed in tabular form below.
Table 1 - Number of closed Disability Allowance claims, 2020-2025
|
Year |
Closed claims |
|
2020 |
7,609 |
|
2021 |
8,958 |
|
2022 |
9,339 |
|
2023 |
9,885 |
|
2024 |
11,438 |
|
2025 |
11,308 |
