Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Apr 1993

Vol. 429 No. 3

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Appeals.

Patrick J. Morley

Question:

99 Mr. Morley asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of social welfare appeal cases listed for oral hearing in County Mayo; and the number of appeals waiting six months or more from the date of the original appeal for a decision.

Minister for Social Welfare (Dr. Woods)

The Social Welfare Appeals Office receives approximately 18,000 appeals every year.

At present there are 214 current appeals from the Mayo region at varying stages. These range from those recently received to those which have been the subject of any necessary additional inquiries and are now ready for oral hearing.

When an appeal is received from a person dissatisfied with the initial decision of the Department of Social Welfare, the grounds upon which the appeal is based are examined. This may involve a second medical referee examination in the case of a sickness benefit payment or a further investigation by a local officer of the Department in other cases. In some cases it will be possible to revise the initial decision at that stage and resolve the appeal speedily. In other cases, however, any contention may be resolved only by way of an oral hearing of the appeal.

At present there are 32 cases listed for oral hearing in County Mayo. In 24 of these the appeal was lodged more than 6 months ago. It is the policy in the Social Welfare Appeals Office, so far as it is possible, to afford priority to appeals where the person has no other social welfare entitlement. Amongst the 24 there are, for example, cases where executors are contesting the recovery from a deceased pensionser's estate of pension overpaid, cases where appellants are being paid but are seeking some decrease in the amount of means assessed against them and cases where the person has been found to be concurrently working and claiming benfit and is contesting the amount of the overpayment. Indeed, in three of the cases, oral hearings had already been arranged and adjourned at the request of the appellant or his legal representative.

It has been arranged that an Appeals Officer will visit the County Mayo area in the week commencing 26 April when it is expected that a significant number of these appeals will be disposed of.