The Hearing aid grant is now available to the self employed
Recent changes made by the Minister For The Department of Social Protection mean that for the first time ever, people who are self employed will now be entitled to the hearing aid grant when purchasing hearing aids.
Some 500,000 self-employed people will now be able to access the hearing aid grant, free dental and optical benefits for the first time this week, as the Department of Social Protection introduces a measure signalled in last October’s budget. The move means that the self-employed, farmers and their dependent spouses, who were previously excluded from the hearing aid grant, receiving a free annual check-up with their dentist or a free eye check, on the grounds that they paid a different category of PRSI, will now be entitled to it.
Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar signed the enabling legislation last week, and the scheme is commenced from this week on March 27th. It has to be seen as good news for people who are, or were self employed before they retired.
The Hearing Aid Grant
The grant is a substantial contribution to the cost of hearing aids, it is up to a maximum of €500 per hearing aid with a maximum of €1,000 for two devices. The actual grant paid is dependent on the cost of the devices, for instance for the maximum amount to be paid the cost of the hearing aids has to be €2,000 or above. Ireland is one of the few countries in the world that supplies any financial assistance for the purchase of private hearing aids.
If you are interested in finding out if you are entitled to the hearing aid grant we can help, give us a call on 1800 848 888 and we can arrange an appointment and go through everything with you.
