Northside Community Law and Mediation Centre and Siobhan Phelan BL, barrister, recently acted on behalf of a 75 year old person who had been refused mobility allowance on the basis of age.
This refusal was communicated in March 2012. The scheme itself was only open to applicants between the ages of 16 and 66. Had this person made their application before the age of 66 and been awarded the payment, they would have retained the payment beyond the age of 66. Northside Community Law and Mediation Centre lodged a complaint in the Equality Tribunal on behalf of this person arguing that the scheme was discriminatory on the grounds of age. The complaint was lodged against the Minister for Health and the Health Service Executive. This case was settled on 4 March 2013.
The Minister for Health announced last week that this scheme and another scheme, the Motorised Transport Grant, were being discontinued and that a consultation process would be engaged in to investigate alternative schemes. The Ombudsman had issued two reports and a number of statements stating that the scheme was discriminatory.
Commenting on the case, Clare Naughton, Solicitor at the Northside Community Law and Mediation Centre said, “This is a really important case which focused on the inequality of the Mobility Allowance Scheme on the grounds of age. Whilst this case has settled, Northside Community Law and Mediation Centre is concerned about the detrimental impact of the removal of the schemes on the many households who rely on the schemes to access medical appointments; attend education; and employment. Our hope now is that the Government moves quickly to establish a replacement scheme”.
Click here to read an Irish Times article on the matter