Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 November 2011
124 Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will allocate temporary staff to process carer’s allowance applications, which are at present taking on average six months to process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36716/11]
View answerThe average time to award a carer's allowance claim is approximately 14 weeks and there are currently just under 8,000 new applications awaiting decision. The processing of new applications is a priority. All options to assist in the reduction of backlogs are under constant review by the scheme management and senior management within the Department.
