Niall Collins
Question:529. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a disability allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick. [1722/13]
View answerSocial Welfare Appeals Status
Questions (529)
Written answers
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 14 December 2012, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
Social Welfare Benefits Applications
Questions (530)
Sandra McLellan
Question:530. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite payment for carer's allowance which has been deemed medically eligible since last September but has not been finalised yet; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1728/13]
View answerWritten answers
I confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on 22 September 2011. The person concerned was refused carers allowance on the grounds that the care recipient is not so disabled as to require full time care and attention as prescribed in regulations. She was notified of this decision and the reason for it.
The person in question requested a review of this decision and submitted additional medical evidence in support of the application on 14 June and on 25 July 2012. This supplementary information was forwarded to the Department’s medical assessor for consideration. Upon review, the caree was deemed eligible on medical grounds. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
Social Welfare Benefits Waiting Times
Questions (531, 532)
Sandra McLellan
Question:531. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection the length of time it takes for awarded appeals for allowances such as carer's, disability and invalidity pension to go into payment; her views on whether this is an acceptable timeframe; if she will review same to allow for a quicker process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1731/13]
View answerSandra McLellan
Question:532. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection the length of time it takes to process allowances such as disability, carer's and invalidity pension from the date on which they have been medically approved to when they go into payment; her views on whether this is an acceptable timeframe; if she will consider reviewing same to allow for a quicker process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1732/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 531 and 532 together.
It is not possible to provide accurate statistics in respect of the specific parameters of your question as the time lags in these two circumstances are not separately recorded.
However, I can say that in respect of all three schemes the putting into payment of successful appeals is prioritised as far as possible. Both carer’s allowance and invalidity pension scheme areas report that no significant delays are occurring in this work at present and that the matter is kept under close review. In the disability allowance scheme area, the time taken to put successful appeals into payment has increased recently. Measures are being taken to ensure that this is addresses.
Regarding your question concerning the time lapse between an opinion being received from a medical assessor regarding the medical eligibility of a claim and a claim being approved, this is directly related to claim processing times generally within the scheme areas.
The Department is undergoing a major service delivery modernisation programme to improve the way it delivers it service to customers and to help it to deal with the significant increase in the number of applications for schemes being received in recent years. The years 2011 and 2012 saw the roll-out of new service delivery systems in the long-term illness schemes i.e. invalidity pension (IP), carer’s allowance (CA) and disability allowance (DA). Following the deployment of the new system, an in-depth business process improvement (BPI) project was initiated in each of the schemes, aimed at providing capacity to deal with weekly intake of applications, eliminate backlogs and ensure that the optimum efficiencies were realised from the new system.
The BPI programme commenced in invalidity pension (IP) section in May 2012. At that time, there were approx. 7,300 new IP claims awaiting a decision. As of now, all new IP claims are dealt with upon receipt, all backlogged claims are actions and the number of claims awaiting further information to allowed a decision be made has reduced very significantly to approx. 3,450.
While the time taken at present to process some carer’s allowance claims is not satisfactory, good inroads have been made over the last number of months by my Department to clear the current backlog and a plan is in place to process the remaining backlogged claims by the end of Q1 2013. I am happy that the actions they are taking will achieve this.
Since September 2012, a system has been put in place in carer’s allowance (CA) to deal promptly with new applications being received and to eliminate the backlog of applications awaiting decision. At present, there are approx. 8,380 new CA applications awaiting decision; this compares to approx. 11,600 applications which were awaiting decision in mid-June 2012. It is expected that the remainder of backlogged CA claims will be actioned by the end of March 2013.
The service delivery modernisation project was fully deployed for disability allowance (DA) in mid-November 2012. A business process improvement project is underway there at present with a view to putting together a plan, similar to those successfully implemented for IP and CA, for the prompt processing of weekly intake and the elimination of the current backlog. At present there are approximately 7,900 new DA applications awaiting decision. While the plan has not yet been finalised and rolled-out, it is anticipated that the backlog of DA applications will be eliminated by the end of Quarter 2 2013.
Social Welfare Appeals Status
Questions (533)
Ciaran Lynch
Question:533. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Social Protection when a determination will be made in an appeal application for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1744/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 7 December 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
Social Welfare Benefits Applications
Questions (534)
Kevin Humphreys
Question:534. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on an application for carer's application will be made in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1748/13]
View answerWritten answers
I confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 13 March 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
Social Welfare Benefits Applications
Questions (535)
Kevin Humphreys
Question:535. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on a partial capacity payment appeal will be made in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 2; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1749/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 29 November 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. In that context, an examination by another Medical Assessor will be carried out. The person concerned will be notified when arrangements for the examination have been completed.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
Question No. 536 withdrawn.
Rent Supplement Scheme Administration
Questions (537)
Éamon Ó Cuív
Question:537. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department advises landlords of property where rent supplement is being paid, of their obligations to register with the Private Residential Tenancies Board; if the Department monitors this situation to ensure this requirement is complied with; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1801/13]
View answerWritten answers
The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Currently, there are approximately 88,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €403 million for 2013.
Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department’s relationship is with the tenant. The Department does not engage directly with landlords to advise them of their legal obligations to register with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).
Registration with the PRTB is not a condition for payment of rent supplement. Landlords are legally obliged to register tenancies with the PRTB within one month from the start date of the tenancy or at a later date on payment of an increased fee. For this reason, it is not practicable for the Department to insist that a tenancy be registered with the PRTB before payment of rent supplement can be made. There are also instances where a rent supplement tenancy need not be registered with the PRTB, for example, in the case of renting a room in a house or where a property is owner-occupied.
The Department works closely with the PRTB to help ensure that rent supplement tenancies comply with the statutory system of tenancy regulation and safeguards. It advises the PRTB of all new rent supplement tenancies to assist them in implementing tenancy regulations and cooperates in any initiatives taken by the PRTB to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act.
Social Welfare Benefits Applications
Questions (538)
Brendan Griffin
Question:538. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on a review of a domiciliary care allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1802/13]
View answerWritten answers
Applications for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) were received from the person concerned in respect of two children on the 17 August 2012. These applications were referred to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors who found that the children were not medically eligible for DCA. Letters issued on the 3 October 2012 refusing the allowance. The person concerned subsequently lodged an appeal against the decision to disallow her applications.
As part of the appeal process, the files have been forwarded to another of the Department’s Medical Assessors for further consideration on 7 November 2012, including a review of any new information supplied. Upon receipt of the Medical Assessor’s opinion, the cases will be further examined and will be forwarded for consideration by the Appeals Office, if necessary.
Social Welfare Appeals Status
Questions (539)
Bernard Durkan
Question:539. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made to date in respect of an appeal for carer's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1805/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who proposes to hold an oral hearing in this case on 21 January 2013. The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements for the hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.