The number of Clare people availing of injury benefit has almost halved in five years.
Figures released by the Department of Social Protection show just 17 residents of this county were in receipt of the payment in the first three months of 2025.
The most common disability and illness payment in Clare is disability allowance which was paid out to 4,201 people here from January 1st to March 31st of this year.
With 3,741 availing of disability allowance across the same period in 2020, the figures show there’s been a 12% rise in the number of Clare people in receipt of the payment in five years.
Similarly, the number of Clare residents on illness benefit, which is for people who can’t work due to being sick or ill, is up 16% since 2020 to 2,501.
A total of 15 people in this county are in receipt of the blind pension while 17 are on injury benefit, which is a payment for people who’ve suffered an accident at work, an accident travelling to or from work, or have developed an occupational disease, indicating a 49% reduction in five years.
When it comes to Clare people on disablement benefit, which is paid to those who suffer a loss of physical or mental faculty due to a work-related accident, an accident travelling to or from work, or a disease contracted at work, there’s been a decrease of 6% since 2020 to 365.
The data also shows that in the first three months of the year, 86 in Clare collected the payment for those who wish to return to work but have a reduced capacity to work due to a medical condition, known as partial capacity benefit.
