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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 17 Oct 1991

Vol. 411 No. 2

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Welfare Appeals.

Proinsias De Rossa

Question:

10 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the average waiting time for adjudication of social welfare appeals by the independent appeals office; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there have been cases of people having to wait more than 20 weeks even for notification of the hearing of an appeal; if he has any plans to provide additional resources to the office to speed up the hearing of appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

An increasing number of people are availing of their statutory right to appeal to the independent social welfare appeals office which I established at the start of the year.

I am aware of the need for additional resources for the office and have taken the necessary steps in this regard so that these arrears can be quickly eliminated and a speedy, efficient service provided for appellants.

An average of the time taken to resolve an appeal is not at present readily available. The time taken depends on a number of factors such as the nature of the appeal, whether a further medical examination is necessary, whether new evidence produced with the appeal has to be investigated, whether the appeal can be determined on a summary basis or whether an oral hearing is necessary. An average figure would not, in the circumstances, be meaningful. Procedures are being considered in the appeals office, however, to ensure that relevant information on trends will be available for the future.

I am confident that, with the measures taken to date and the additional resources I am providing to deal with the new needs identified, the independent social welfare appeals office will be in a position to provide a consistent, efficient and prompt service.

The chief appeals officer is now obliged by law to submit an annual report to me. I will have his report on the activities of the office for 1991 early next year. The activities of the social welfare appeals system will be monitored in the light of that report.

I know of a case which the appeals office took approximately six months to process. It is a glaring indictment of the new, independent appeals body. Quite clearly, the Minister has not given the resources to this body. Either he got the figures completely wrong in relation to the numbers of people who would use the service or, more likely, has deliberately sought to dissuade people from using the appeals system. As time goes on I will be demanding the increase of the staffing ratio in the office so that it will have meaning and make sense to anybody genuinely pursuing an appeal.

There are certain inherent delays in an appeals system because a person has to be notified in relation to a disability benefit case if there is to be a second examination. The disallowance of disability benefit probably causes the greatest amount of delay. The office ask the section in the Department to furnish a report in the first instance and, almost inevitably, that will lead to a need for a second medical examination. There has been an increase in the number of applications for qualification certificates because of the increased number of unemployed and people coming back from England which has put additional pressure on the office. However, the office is generally doing very well. I hope that any difficulties will be overcome in the future.

I assume the Minister is fully aware of people's frustration in this regard. Like other Deputies, I could give examples of people waiting as long as 34 weeks for the result of their appeal. Is it true that on occasions files are left somewhere within the system — I am not sure where — for as long as 14 or 15 weeks without a human being going near them? A huge proportion of queries to Members in the west relates to social welfare. I accept that the Minister made efforts to try to streamline the system a few years ago but I have never seen it as bad as it is now. Why are files sent from local employment exchanges to Dublin, Sligo and other places? It reminds me of a fiddler's elbow, obviously nobody is able to direct control.

The appeals office is separate and independent——

I know that.

The office will have to communicate with the particular section to get the facts. A person has to be given a couple of weeks' notice in relation to when their appeal will be heard so that they can make arrangements to attend. Almost all disability benefit appeals are heard orally, something which Deputies wanted. That may not always be necessary but almost everybody gets an oral hearing. Therefore, there is an average delay of five or six weeks in the appeals process. One must remember that it has gone through a number of other appeals and that a decision has been taken against the person. People have often said to me that their case has gone on and on without a positive decision. However, the reason for this is that they have been turned down twice or three times previously and are still contesting it. They tend to estimate the time the appeal takes from the first appeal to the last, which makes it seem longer. There is also difficulty in getting information, especially in rural areas, about land or bank accounts.

It would only take half an hour to elicit that information.

By and large, the appeals officers are doing a good job. In the eight months to the end of August 1991 about 16,000 appeals were received, an increase on the previous year when it was only starting. One of the factors which has affected it is the number of people coming home, looking for qualification certificates and appealing in relation to them. However, one must take into consideration that that may not be a continuing feature.

I visited the appeals office on two occasions recently and, arising from that, I should like to ask the Minister two supplementaries. Is he aware that the files which give the information to the appeals office from the local exchange are not regularly available to an appeals officer when he is trying to make a decision? Is he aware that four out of five positions of appeals officer in Oisín House are vacant and that only one appeals officer is operating? On the two days I attended, that was the case and I was told it was the regular situation. In view of that, will he consider applying resources to the appeals office to allow for appeals officers on site so that appeals can be heard? At present there are long queues of people waiting for hours for their cases to be heard.

As I said in my reply, I have made some arrangements for additional resources for the office so that arrears can be dealt with more speedily.

What about the transfer of the file from the local office to the appeals office?

The local officer must complete the file. However, if the Deputy gives me a specific instance I will pursue it.

It is a regular occurrence.

The local officer would have to complete the investigation or visit before sending the file to the appeals office.

The file from the local office is not reaching the appeals office.

I am delighted that the Minister was honest in admitting that there are terrible problems in relation to staffing which are causing delays in the appeals office. Is he conscious of the delays which are particularly acute during summer holiday periods for the staff? The case with which I was dealing took six months. I am sure the Minister will be interested to hear that the appellant won it. Therefore, not all cases which go to the appeals office are frivolous, vindictive or unsubstantiated. The delay during August is unacceptable. There will have to be a radical review of the system if the office is to operate effectively.

I take it that the Deputy had holidays in August. I hope he will not mind if public servants also get holidays during that time of the year.

We close down.

People have to make arrangements to have a break.

It is the Minister's responsibility to guarantee resources.

The Deputy must live on the moon. However, if he has a specific case I will look into it.

The man won his case.

The case was settled satisfactorily. Why is the Deputy complaining?

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