Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 April 2013
46. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that in 2011, almost one in five decisions in social welfare appeals was overturned by getting the original deciding officer to revise their original decision; her plans to ensure that there is better first-instance decision-making. [18842/13]
View answerDecisions on statutory social welfare schemes are made by statutorily appointed Deciding Officers (DO). The DO must satisfy him/herself that the person:
- is aware of all the information that could adversely affect his/her entitlement;
- was given an opportunity to comment and to submit any facts or information to correct any inaccuracy or incompleteness in the information; and
- any comments made by the person are clearly and fully considered before a decision is made.
DOs and others involved in the process will assist claimants as far as possible in making their applications but, as a matter of law, the burden of providing evidence to support a claim rests with claimants.
Disqualifications and disallowances are issued to the customer in writing. The disallowance/disqualification reasons and grounds are outlined clearly and are sufficient to enable the appellant to lodge an appeal. Persons are advised, in the decision letters, of their right to seek a Department of Social Protection (DSP) review of the initial decision and are also advised as to how to lodge an appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO). Where a review is sought, the DO re-examines the case and, taking account of any new facts or evidence, may revise his/ her decision.
6,035 of the appeals finalised in 2011 were revised decisions made by DOs who reviewed the claim following the initial disallowance. This figure illustrates that the review process is well understood and utilised. Many revised decisions arose as a result of new facts or fresh evidence produced by the claimant after the original decision on his /her claim. In such cases an Appeals Officer decision was not necessary and obviated the need for claimants to go through the full appeals process. DOs are reminded through on-going training, guidelines and circulars of the rules of natural justice and the submissions and decisions process of the SWAO. Furthermore the Department constantly monitors the decision making process and implements any changes required to ensure a high standard of decision making is maintained.
The Department processes in excess of two million claims each year and it makes payments to over one million people every week. It is important to emphasise that the staff in this Department are very conscious of their obligations to claimants and every effort is made to ensure people receive the entitlements due to them.
