A minister has apologised to a grieving mother for a “tone deaf” letter demanding money from her the day after the death of her teenage son.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys admitted “we got it wrong” and said the letter should never have been sent out.
Tracy McGinnis was a full-time carer to her son Brendan and his death last month at the age of 17 has left her convulsed by grief.
Read More: Mother of severely disabled child begs Health Minister to do 'something positive' for her son
And her pain was added to when she received a letter from the Department of Social Protection demanding repayment of €208 from the disability allowance she had been paid the day after Brendan’s death.
Ms McGinnis broke down in tears as she told Anton Savage on Newstalk Radio how she felt “shocked, appalled and angry” when she read the letter.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys admitted her department had made a disastrous mistake in its dealings with Ms McGinnis.
She told the same radio programme that Ms McGinnis would not have to pay the money back and confirmed she would make sure it would never happen again.
Minister Mumphreys added: “This shouldn’t have happened and how anybody thought it was appropriate to send a letter to a grieving mother is beyond me and I have spoken to my officials about it.
“They’re going to look at how they handle cases like this in the future, but for somebody to receive a letter that a few weeks after their son died is tone deaf.
“We have to do better and we have to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“And all I can do is apologise… and can I extend my deepest sympathy to Tracy on the loss of her dear son Brendan – my heart goes out to her.”
She added: “We do have to look at how we deal with cases of bereavement like this and there has to be common sense and I have to make changes I will because no no mother should have to receive a letter like that.”
She added that Ms McGinnis would not have to repay the money adding: “As far as I’m concerned this is about common sense and compassion and no, she won’t have to repay the money.”
Earlier in the programme Ms McGinnis told how she was left devastated after receiving the letter the day after her disabled son died on May 17.
She said: “I’m on my knees in every way possible,” she said, her voice filled with emotion.
“I spent 17-and-a-half years working 24/7 around the clock, [providing] nursing level care so that my son could have the best life possible, considering he was so profoundly disabled.
“He was a happy, happy fella and his body just gave out.”
She said believed that the disability allowance she received to care for Brendan would continue for six weeks after his death.
But the six-week rule applies only for spouses or romantic partners. If you are caring for a child, the payment is stopped as soon as they die.
Ms McGinnis added: “The letter said I owed them back the €208 because it was paid the day after he died and I shouldn’t have collected it because his social benefits end the day he died.
“I can tell you that as a lone parent carer for all of these years, having left a career behind, having no other source of income – I don’t have a partner or a spouse – [or] any other means of income….”
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
