Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015

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Opinion of medical assessor

10. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 300:

“Opinion of medical assessor

300A. (1) In determining a person’s entitlement (whether in respect of a decision under section 300 or a revised decision under section 301) to a benefit, assistance or a respite care grant, as the case may be, the opinion of a medical assessor may be sought in respect of, but not limited to, any of the following questions:

(a) whether the person is—

(i) for the purposes of section 40 or section 74, as the case may be, incapable of work, or

(ii) for the purposes of section 118, permanently incapable of work;

(b) the level of restriction, for the purposes of section 46A, on the person’s capacity for work in relation to the capacity for work of a person of the same age who has no restriction on his or her capacity for work;

(c) whether, for the purposes of Chapter 9 or Chapter 10 of Part 2, the woman concerned is expected to be or has been confined within the meaning of section 51;

(d) whether, for the purposes of section 72—

(i) the accident, in respect of which the opinion is sought, could have arisen out of and in the course of the insured person’s employment, and

(ii) the insured person’s injury is consistent with that accident;

(e) the extent, for the purposes of section 75, of the disablement resulting from the loss of physical or mental faculty suffered by an insured person as a result of personal injury caused on or after 1 May 1967 by accident arising out of and in the course of his or her employment;

(f) whether, for the purposes of section 77, a person entitled to disablement pension is, as a result of the relevant loss of faculty, incapable of work and likely to remain permanently so incapable;

(g) whether, for the purposes of section 78, a person entitled to disablement pension in respect of an assessment of 50 per cent or more requires constant attendance as a result of the relevant loss of faculty;

(h) whether, for the purposes of section 80, the death of an insured person is as a result of personal injury caused on or after 1 May 1967 by accident arising out of and in the course of his or her employment;

(i) whether, for the purposes of section 85, the person, as a result of the injury or disease arising out of and in the course of his or her employment—

(i) is or could be treated as being incapable of work and likely to remain permanently so incapable, or

(ii) requires constant attendance;

(j) whether, for the purposes of section 87, an insured person has a disease or injury prescribed under that section which—

(i) could have arisen out of and in the course of the insured person’s employment, and

(ii) developed on or after 1 May 1967;

(k) whether the relevant accident, within the meaning of section 69, was an occupational accident for the purposes of section 90;

(l) whether the person, in respect of whose care a claim has been made or is in payment, is a relevant person for the purposes of Chapter 14 of Part 2, Chapter 8 of Part 3 or Part 5, as the case may be;

(m) whether, for the purposes of section 161A, the person is so blind that he or she—

(i) cannot perform any work for which eyesight is essential, or

(ii) cannot continue his or her ordinary occupation;

(n) whether a child is a qualified child for the purposes of Chapter 8A of Part 3;

(o) whether, for the purposes of section 210, the person, by reason of a specified disability, is substantially restricted in undertaking employment of a kind which, if the person was not suffering from that disability, would be suited to that person’s age, experience and qualifications.

(2) Where the opinion of a medical assessor is sought in accordance with subsection (1), the medical assessor shall assess all of the relevant information available to him or her and shall provide an opinion on the question put to him or her.

(3) Where a medical assessor provides an opinion in accordance with subsection (2), a deciding officer shall have regard to that opinion in deciding the question in respect of which the opinion was sought.

(4) In this section ‘relevant loss of faculty’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 69.”.