Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 June 2024
263. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a breakdown of the current timeframes for a decision on an appeal for each social welfare payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26946/24]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions and management of the Appeals Office is the responsibility of the Chief Appeals Officer.
In 2023 the average overall processing times to finalise an appeal were 16 weeks. The time taken to process an appeal includes all elements of the process, which includes seeking documentation from the department on the grounds for the appeals. It also includes the preparation of documents by the department, which may involve further medical assessments in certain illness related cases or further investigation by Social Welfare Inspectors, where required. All of these elements can in certain circumstances lead to extended processing times.
A detailed report is published each year by the Chief Appeals Officer showing processing times of each scheme at a granular level. The report for 2023 will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas very shortly. In the meantime the table below provides details of the processing times for the main schemes for 2023.
|
Scheme |
Appeal Processing Time (Weeks) |
|
State Pension Non-Contributory |
26 |
|
State Pension contributory |
32 |
|
Jobseekers Allowance |
19 |
|
Jobseekers Benefit |
13 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
25 |
|
Disability Allowance |
16 |
|
Domicillary Care Allowance |
17 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
15 |
|
Carers Allowance |
16 |
An Appeals Modernisation Project is currently underway with the first phase, a new appeals IT system supporting business processes, being introduced last November. The second phase, involving the introduction of an online appeals application system will be introduced later this year. These business changes, including the implementation of the new appeals system, have led to some temporary disruption, including an increase of work on hand and a lengthening of the time taken to process an appeal. This is due to the need to transfer data from the old system, implement new processes and to train staff. However, I am advised that the new system has already significantly reduced the time taken to register and acknowledge appeals lodged with the Appeals Office and will, in time, reduce the overall average processing times. A number of internal initiatives are also being undertaken under the direction of the Chief Appeals Officer to improve ways of working within the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
There is active engagement between the Appeals Office and my Department to ensure that the appeals process operates as efficiently as possible and that where the Deciding Officer's decision is not revised in favour of the appellant that the relevant files are provided as quickly as possible to the Appeals Office for consideration by an Appeals Officer.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
