From today people claiming standard 'non Covid-19' Illness Benefit will only have to wait three days to be eligible, rather than six as at present, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys has confirmed.
The move is expected to increase the cost of standard Illness Benefit by €32.6m a year (excluding additional ICT and staffing costs) due to what the Department has described as an "immediate and significant impact" in terms of the number of claims, as more people will be eligible. "For example, last year the Department of Social Protection received some 200,000 applications for Illness Benefit and each of those employees would have had to forego six waiting days," the Department said.