Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 November 2016
226. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who are awaiting the processing of social protection payments (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33571/16]
View answerThe Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
The figures you request for each scheme, as at 30 September 2016, are shown in the table below.
|
Scheme |
Awaiting Decision |
Average weeks to award |
|
Carer's Allowance |
4,146 |
14 |
|
Child Benefit |
1,549 |
3 |
|
Disability Allowance |
5,567 |
13 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
2,053 |
11 |
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
1,227 |
6 |
|
State Pension Non-Contributory |
1,913 |
15 |
Reducing waiting times is a priority for the Department and we are working hard to make this happen. As part of its programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been implemented by the Department in recent years. In addition, staffing needs are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources. Where additional staffing is deployed to a scheme, such as has happened for carer’s allowance, there is a time-lag involved while those staff are trained and build up expertise. The Department has seen a significant reduction in CA processing from 22 weeks at the end of May to 14 weeks at the end of September and expects the processing times for schemes to reduce further over the next few months, as recently assigned staff get up to speed with the work involved in claim processing.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
