Denial of one-parent family payment to single mother-of-two with refugee status overturned following a review of all the facts

The Social Welfare Chief Appeals Office has overturned the Appeals Office’s initial denial of one-parent family payment to a single mother-of-two with refugee status following a review of all the facts. The woman, originally from a sub-Saharan African country, was granted permission to stay in Ireland in 2019. Due to a lack of funds and government support, she had to drop out of her pre-nursing course.

Crucially, from the point of view of the Appeals Office, because the woman was not in employment at the time of her application for the one-parent family payment, it concluded that she failed to satisfy the habitual residence condition as her presence in the State was not in accordance with her permission to remain; it held that she must make “every effort to gain employment, set up a business or pursue a profession, and not be a burden on the State”.

Using its statutory powers, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission represented the woman in submitted a request to the Chief Appeal Office for review of the decision disallowing her the payment. In its submission, the Commission argued that the conditions attached to the woman’s permission to remain did not prohibit her from accessing social welfare and the Appeal Office materially erred in fact.

It’s important to note that the Chief Appeal Officer maintained that it remains lawful to consider compliance with permission to remain conditions when assessing the habitual residence condition requirement. However, the woman was successful before the Chief Appeals Office; it overturned the initial refusal on the payment in light of a review of all the facts, in particular, her compliance with the permission to remain and the new information submitted in respect of her recent employment status as a part-time cleaner.

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