The High Court has referred three questions about EU social security rules to the Court of Justice of the European Union in a judicial review over backdated Irish child benefit. The court did not decide whether the applicant was entitled to backdated payments; it adjourned the rest of the case pending the EU court’s decision.
The applicant, Flavia Stan, sought to challenge the refusal of her appeal against a decision not to backdate child benefit. She and her child moved from Romania to Ireland in November or December 2016. She continued to receive Romanian child benefit but did not apply for Irish child benefit until January 2018. The claim was granted the following month, and Romanian payments ceased around then.
After seeking a review and then appealing, Stan brought judicial review proceedings against the Chief Appeals Officer, the Social Welfare Appeals Office and two ministers. Her challenge concerned whether her continuing receipt of Romanian child benefit could count as a claim for Irish benefit under EU rules; whether that issue was separate from her obligation to notify Romanian authorities of her move; and whether Ireland’s 12-month deadline made it excessively difficult to exercise EU rights.
The judge set out the applicant’s and respondents’ competing submissions. The applicant argued, among other things, that the Romanian claim should be treated as a claim for Irish benefit. The respondents argued that each Romanian payment was made under the original decision to grant benefit, rather than a new claim, and that the applicant had not informed the Romanian authorities of her change of residence.
Justice Richard Humphreys said his proposed answer to the first question was no: each periodic payment did not amount to a fresh claim. He proposed that, if the second question arose, it should also be answered no. On the third question, he proposed that the effectiveness principle did not guarantee the success of an individual claim where a neutral, reasonable deadline had been available. These were the judge’s proposed answers for the EU court to consider, not a final determination of the benefit dispute.
The court ordered that three questions be referred to the EU court under Article 267 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It directed the applicant to lodge the necessary papers with the Principal Registrar within 28 days and adjourned the balance of the judicial review pending the EU court’s decision. The judgment did not determine the ultimate entitlement to backdated benefit.