Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2013
385. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will report on the current backlog of appeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Officer; the measures being taken to address this backlog; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2951/13]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that as at 18th January, 2013 there were 20,364 appeals outstanding. There was a rapid and sustained increase in the number of appeals from 2009 to date which has placed extraordinary pressure on the SWAO. Significant resources and efforts have been put into reducing backlogs and improving processing times for appellants, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers, improving business processes and implementing a new operating model. The Chief Appeals Officer expects to finalise 6,000 more cases in 2013 than in 2012 (There were 33,129 appeals finalised in 2012). There is a major programme of process redesign and modernisation currently underway in relation to many scheme areas which will reduce backlogs and will also reduce the time taken for the Department to respond to requests from the SWAO for submissions in relation to appeals. It is planned to recruit 8 additional Medical Assessors in 2013. All these measures together will reduce the waiting time for appellants. However, by its nature and because it is a quasi-judicial process, the processing of appeals takes time even at the best of times and reflects the fact that while every effort is made to deal with appeals as fast as possible this cannot be at the expense of fairness of due process.
