Smith and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr. Smith against a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services regarding his eligibility for a social security payment. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Smith met the criteria for a severe impairment under the relevant legislation, specifically concerning the number of impairment points he was entitled to. The decision was made by Damien O'Donovan SM in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr. Smith suffered from a physical, intellectual, or psychiatric impairment that satisfied paragraph 94(1)(a) of the Act, and if so, whether his impairments attracted 20 points or more on the Impairment Tables. Mr. Smith claimed several impairments, including cognitive function, head injuries, depression and anxiety, speech impairment, and alcohol dependence, each requiring assessment under the Impairment Tables. A key point of contention was the appropriate Impairment Table to be used for assessing his cognitive impairment, with Mr. Smith arguing for Table 9 and the respondent for Table 7.

The Tribunal considered the application of Table 9, which is used for permanent conditions resulting in low intellectual function (IQ score of 70 to 85) originating before the age of 18. While Mr. Smith's condition originated before 18, the Tribunal found that his IQ score of 86, with a 95% confidence interval of 82-90, did not meet the threshold for Table 9. The Tribunal disagreed with the Tier 1 decision that the confidence interval's inclusion of scores within the 70-85 range justified using Table 9, stating that the single IQ score of 86 was not supportive of this assessment. Despite this disagreement on the specific table, the Tribunal proceeded to assess his impairment under Table 7 for other reasons.