I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the current average times taken to process carers allowance appeals decided by summary decision is 31.5 weeks and 42.8 weeks for those requiring an oral hearing.
These processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation and include all activities during this period including:
time spent in the Department for comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant,
any further investigation by the Department's Inspectors,
any further examination or assessment by the Department's Medical Assessors that is deemed necessary. A considerable period of time is added to the process when an oral hearing is required because of the logistics involved in this process.
There has been a very significant increase in the number of appeals received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2007 when the intake was 14,070 to 2010 and 2011 when the intake rose to 32,432 and 31,241 respectively. This has significantly impacted on the processing time for appeals and, in order to be fair to all appellants, they are dealt with in strict chronological order.
I am assured by the Chief Appeals Officer that she is keeping current processes under continuous review with a view to achieving a more effective throughput of appeals, while ensuring that any progress does not conflict with due process in terms of the rights of appellants and adherence to the requirements of natural justice.