Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 May 2013
41. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Social Protection the average length of time for processing social welfare appeals broken down by division and type of appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25724/13]
View answer42. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of cases currently on appeal and awaiting decision in respect of the various social welfare payments; the extent to which the waiting time for determination of appeal continues to be reduced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25702/13]
View answer134. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if the Chief Appeals Officer will confirm the processing time for appeals of carer's allowance, family income supplement, invalidity pension and disability allowance schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26091/13]
View answer143. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the average time taken to determine appeals in respect of each category of payment provided by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26267/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 41, 42, 134 and 143 together.
The number of cases currently on appeal and the current average time taken to process appeals of social welfare payments is given in the Table. 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 crystalises 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 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. It is also worth noting that, despite the increase in the volume of appeals being received, the number of appeals on hand has reduced from 20,414 at 1 January 2013 to 17,060 at 24 May 2013. 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.
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.
Appeals pending and current average processing times by scheme type
|
- |
Current Average Processing times |
||
|
Appeals pending at 24/5/2013 |
Summary Decisions (weeks) |
Oral Hearings (weeks) |
|
|
Adoptive Benefit |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Blind Pension |
14 |
25.8 |
- |
|
Carer's Allowance |
1,983 |
28.9 |
38.0 |
|
Carer's Benefit |
34 |
25.2 |
29.8 |
|
Child Benefit |
304 |
30.4 |
44.9 |
|
Disability Allowance |
4,120 |
37.0 |
42.6 |
|
Illness Benefit |
991 |
41.1 |
47.6 |
|
Domiciliary Care |
633 |
31.2 |
38.1 |
|
Deserted Wives Benefit |
12 |
34.0 |
38.6 |
|
Farm Assist |
173 |
23.0 |
30.1 |
|
Bereavement Grant |
34 |
32.4 |
- |
|
Family Income Supplement |
204 |
29.4 |
43.7 |
|
Homemaker Credits |
2 |
- |
- |
|
Invalidity Pension |
2,577 |
34.1 |
45.7 |
|
Liable Relatives |
23 |
32.8 |
42.9 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
420 |
32.8 |
39.2 |
|
Maternity Benefit |
12 |
31.1 |
51.4 |
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
90 |
20.7 |
- |
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
82 |
25.9 |
34.3 |
|
State Pension (Non-Cont) |
114 |
32.4 |
45.1 |
|
State Pension (Transition) |
26 |
22.2 |
39.6 |
|
Occupational Injury Benefit |
12 |
45.4 |
59.4 |
|
Occupational Injury Benefit (Medical) |
23 |
- |
- |
|
Disablement Pension |
254 |
35.4 |
39.5 |
|
Incapacity Supplement |
18 |
- |
43.2 |
|
Guardian's Payment (Con) |
14 |
21.1 |
34.2 |
|
Guardian's Payment (Non-con) |
3 |
45.5 |
46.6 |
|
Pre-Retirement Allowance |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means) |
1,435 |
21.9 |
33.1 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
1,115 |
21.8 |
27.8 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
374 |
22.9 |
29.5 |
|
UAUBFC |
3 |
- |
14.2 |
|
Respite Care Grant |
87 |
26.1 |
34.1 |
|
Insurability of Employment |
96 |
23.6 |
59.3 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
1,741 |
17.2 |
26.2 |
|
Treatment Benefits |
1 |
32.0 |
- |
|
Survivor's Pension (Con) |
19 |
29.8 |
40.6 |
|
Survivor's Pension (Non-Con) |
13 |
36.3 |
37.9 |
|
Widows Parent Grant |
2 |
34.2 |
- |
|
All Appeals |
17,060 |
28.0 |
37.5 |
