Court overturns benefit cut for young woman born with one eye

Local disabilitiessocial welfareTop News Court overturns benefit cut for young woman born with one eye Dioikitikodikastirio 1068x657 1 1024x630 1 Relevant News Court overturns benefit cut for young woman born with one eye 3 September 2026 Toxic haze from Indonesia wildfires spreads to neighbouring countries 3 September 2026 Kombos meets UK minister on British Bases, Cyprus problem 3 September 2026 Michalis Hadjivasilis 3 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The Administrative Court has overturned a decision to cut a young woman’s Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) benefit, ruling that the state’s justification for the decision was unclear, particularly given that she had previously been certified as disabled. The woman, born on March 5, 2007, was diagnosed shortly after birth with a serious congenital eye condition: she had been born with only one eye. To treat the condition, the state sent her to London for treatment just months after her birth, covering her hospital costs, and she later travelled abroad several times for the same purpose. As a person with a disability, she had been approved by the Social Welfare Services for a Public Assistance payment of €XXX a month (the exact figure is redacted in the court’s published decision), under the Public Assistance and Services Laws. That payment was suspended after the introduction of legislation on the Guaranteed Minimum Income, and her parents were instructed to apply to the Welfare Benefit Administration Service (WBAS) for GMI instead. Given her existing approval for Public Assistance, she applied to the WBAS for GMI on August 29, 2014, under the Public Assistance and Services Law, submitting various supporting documents. Based on the material submitted, the WBAS approved the application. Two years later, in a letter dated October 20, 2016, the relevant benefits service informed the young woman’s guardians that her disability needed to be certified through the disability assessment system, and that they therefore had to apply to the Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (DSID) at the Ministry of Labour, submitting the relevant documents. As part of the review of her application, a report from her treating doctor was submitted to the Ministry of Labour’s Disability Assessment Centre on December 9, 2016. In March 2020, her GMI payments were also terminated, and she has not received any benefit since. Of the standard reasons listed on the rejection letter, the one marked with a “√” read: “You are an unmarried person under the age of 28 and are not a single parent, a person with a disability, an orphan, or a person who, at the age of 18, was under the care of the Director of Social Welfare Services.” The Administrative Court ruled that an adverse administrative decision must contain reasoning that is as clear, specific and thorough as possible, explaining why the authority’s conclusion was negative, particularly given that the applicant had previously been certified as disabled due to her congenital eye condition. The court elaborated: “In these circumstances, this Court finds it impossible to establish the correctness of the reasoning behind the contested decision, and specifically why the applicant’s disability was certified as ‘moderate mental’ and ‘moderate other physical disability’, and subsequently found not to meet the definition of a person with a disability for GMI purposes, or how the competent body examined and concluded that she did not fall within the provisions of subsections (f) and (g) of Article 4(2), as presented in the contested act.” The court therefore ruled that it could not be established whether the contested decision was based on the correct factual and legal grounds. It also found that the reasoning behind the decision was deficient and vague, and in any event insufficient, and on that basis overturned the rejection of her application. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Toxic haze from Indonesia wildfires spreads to neighbouring countries Kombos meets UK minister on British Bases, Cyprus problem LUX_KILL brings algorithmic bodies to Rialto Theatre’s understage Rialto Theatre’s EXPLICIT tribute honours Lars von Trier’s most provocative films Zavrantonas retrial: lawyer alleges fair-trial breach over deleted files Overnight pharmacies on Thursday, September 3 Body found in Paphos forest confirmed to be missing Erato Athanasiou, 75 Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.