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Invalidity Pension Appeals

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2013

Thursday, 23 May 2013

Questions (88)

Tom Fleming

Question:

88. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures she has taken to address the unacceptable waiting lists for invalidity pension appeals; the timeframe to process these appeals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24824/13]

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Written answers

I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the current average time taken to process invalidity pension appeals decided by summary decision is 34.1 weeks and 45.7 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. They include all activities during this period including time spent awaiting any clarification from the appellant, time in the Department for comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant, and any further investigation, examination or assessment by the Department’s Inspectors and 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. While this process carries an inherent delay in terms of finalising an appeal, it also crystalizes the flexibility and accessibility of the appeals system.

There has been a rapid and sustained increase in the number of appeals received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2009 which has placed extraordinary pressure on the office. Up to 2009, the average number of appeals received was 15,000 per annum whereas in 2012, the office received 35,484 appeals. In the case of Invalidity Pension appeals, the numbers of appeals received has increased from 642 in 2009 to 4,765 in 2012. In order to manage this increasing workload, significant resources and efforts have been put into reducing backlogs and improving appeals processing times for appellants, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers, reviewing and improving business processes and implementing a new operating model within the appeals office. In addition, a major programme of process redesign and modernisation is currently underway in the Department in relation to many scheme areas, aimed at reducing backlogs and reducing the time taken for the Department to respond to requests from the SWAO for submissions in relation to appeals.

These measures have led to improvements in processing times and a significant increase in the number of appeals finalised from 17,787 in 2009 to 32,558 in 2012. The Chief Appeals Officer expects to finalise 6,000 more cases in 2013 than in 2012. The number of invalidity pension appeals finalised has increased from 485 in 2009 to 1,991 in 2012.

Processing times for all appeal types reduced by 10.3 weeks overall in 2012 when compared to 2011, with the time taken to finalise an appeal requiring an oral hearing down by 13 weeks and the time for an appeal decided by way of a summary decision up by 2.7 weeks.

In the case of invalidity pension appeals, processing times for appeals requiring an oral hearing were down by 10.2 weeks over 2011, while the time taken for summary decisions increased by 2.4 weeks.

By its nature and because it is a quasi-judicial function, the processing of appeals takes time and reflects the fact that, by definition, the appeal process cannot be a quick one.

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