Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2026
606. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to urgently review a disability allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44976/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the person concerned was awarded Disability Allowance in a decision dated 7 February 2025.
On 24th February 2025 a request for a review and back payment of Disability Allowance was requested. The Department considered the request for backdating and decided not to backdate the payment by decision dated 15th July 2025.
The person concerned submitted an appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 2nd September 2025. The appeal was registered on 4th September 2025.
Having fully considered all of the available evidence, an Appeals Officer decided to disallow the appeal by way of a summary decision, and the person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision on 23rd December 2025.
Under Section 320 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005, an Appeals Officer’s decision is generally final and conclusive. It can only be revised in certain limited circumstances:
• By an Appeals Officer under Section 317 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 where new facts or evidence have been provided which were not before the Appeals Officer when the decision was made, and which are relevant at the date the claim was made.
• by the Chief Appeals Officer under Section 318 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 where it has been established that in making the decision the Appeals Officer has made a mistake in relation to the law or the facts; or
• by an appeal to the High Court on any question of law in accordance with Section 327 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005.
If the person concerned wishes to request a review of the Appeals Officer’s decision under (i) above, they may do so by completing an SWAO2 form specifying what new facts or evidence the person concerned has that was not before the Appeals Officer when they made their decision. An SWAO2 form was provided to the Deputy's office by the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 9th January 2026, and again on 12th June 2026 but to date no request for a review under Section 317 has been received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
If the person concerned wishes to request a Section 318 review of the Appeals Officer’s decision as outlined in (ii) above, please specify on what grounds you believe that the Appeals Officer made an error of fact or law in reaching his decision.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
