Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Question:22. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she intends to take regarding the extent of the backlog in processing disability allowance claims. [37680/24]
View answerTuesday, 24 September 2024
Questions (22)
Written answers
My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made in a timely manner. My Department understands the pressures faced by people and always seeks to ensure that claims are processed quickly and efficiently.The processing time for individual Disability Allowance (DA) claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information the person provides in support of their claim.When determining someone’s suitability for DA, evidence must be examined in respect of the applicant’s medical condition, the extent to which it restricts them from taking up employment, their means and their habitual residency. To assist the Department to make timely and fair decisions on applications, applicants should ensure that they complete the form fully and attach all the supporting documentation required as per the checklist provided on the application form. It is critical that applicants provide comprehensive details about their medical conditions at the outset to best support their claim.Many applicants submit their forms before securing all necessary supporting documentation to establish an early entitlement date. While this is understandable, claims with incomplete information typically take longer to process. My Department has introduced a wide range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology in recent years. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised. Recent process improvements have positively impacted applicants DA determined and I am pleased to inform the Deputy that we are currently meeting our processing target for the DA scheme, which aims to award 75% of applications within 10 weeks. The average processing time for DA claims has remained at 6 weeks for several months. These processing improvements occurred at a time where increases in DA applications grew by 10% over the past year.If the Deputy has a specific case they would like my officials to examine, I encourage him to forward the details for consideration.I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.