Medical assessors’ recruitment competition completed

A recent recruitment competition has resulted in the Department of Social Protection currently having 32 whole-time equivalent (WTE) medical assessors.

The figures, which were provided to the Medical Independent (MI), reflect a slight increase compared to June 2023 when staffing numbers were last reported by this newspaper.

A spokesperson told MI that in October, the Department conducted a recruitment competition for medical assessors through the Public Appointments Service.

“The Department currently has 32 [WTE] medical assessors,” said the spokesperson.

“All medical assessors are medically qualified doctors, holding full registration with the Irish Medical Council.”

They added that the medical review and assessment service actively monitors staffing levels and “proactively conducts recruitment” for the medical assessor panel to fill vacancies as they arise.

The Department previously told MI that many medical assessors have specialist postgraduate qualifications and all have received training in disability evaluation and the operation of the Department’s schemes.

According to Department figures, in 2024, some 1,298 reviews were completed to determine a person’s continued eligibility for disability allowance and 149 were found to be no longer eligible.

Also, last year saw 4,581 reviews take place to determine a person’s continued eligibility for illness benefit, with 113 found to be no longer eligible.

“It should be noted that the final decision to disallow a claim does not rest with the medical assessors, rather with a deciding officer,” according to the spokesperson.

“The figures given only reflect the numbers of customers found no longer medically eligible by the medical assessors.”