Social Welfare Benefits Data

Tuesday, 22 November 2016

Questions (312, 321)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

312. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the applications for various social protection payments which are most commonly refused on application and referred to appeal or an oral hearing; the number of cases subsequently rejected or approved on appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36290/16]

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Bernard Durkan

Question:

321. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of oral hearings that have taken place in the past 12 months in respect of the various payments made by his Department to social protection recipients; the number of cases where the original decision was overturned arising from the hearing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36299/16]

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Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 321 together.

The following tables provide the details which have been requested by the Deputy in respect of 2015 and to date in 2016.

The schemes with the highest number of appeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Office in 2015 and to date in 2016 were - disability allowance (6,435 in 2015/4,077 in 2016), carer’s allowance (3,188 in 2015/3,309 in 2016), jobseeker’s allowance - means (2,174 in 2015/1,772 in 2016), jobseeker’s allowance - payments (2,058 in 2015/1,739 in 2016), supplementary welfare allowance (2,125 in 2015/1,760 in 2016), invalidity pension (1,857 in 2015/1,168 in 2016) and domiciliary care allowance (1,258 in 2015/1,032 in 2016).

Details of appeal outcomes for the above schemes are set out in the following tables. Overall, 58.8% of the 25,406 appeals which were finalised in 2015 had a favourable outcome for the appellant, i.e. were either allowed in full or in part, or resolved by way of a revised decision by a Deciding Officer/Designated Person. To date in 2016, 58.7% of the 19,128 appeals finalised have had a favourable outcome for the appellant.

Of the 18,913 appeals which were finalised by Appeals Officers in 2015, 6,886 (36.4%) were determined following an oral hearing. 4,444 (64.5%) of these had a favourable outcome for the appellant. Of the 14,215 appeals finalised by Appeals Officers in 2016 5,362 (37.7%) were determined following an oral hearing. 3,485 (65%) of these had a favourable outcome for the appellant.

There are a number of reasons why a decision which was refused at first instance might be successful on appeal and it is not necessarily the case that the first decision was wrong.

Where new evidence is provided with an appeal the original decision may be revised by the Deciding Officer or Designated Person as was the case in some 35 per cent of favourable appeal outcomes in 2015. Where the decision was not revised in the Department in light of the appeal contentions, further evidence is often provided by the appellant as the appeal process proceeds and in addition, the Appeals Officer may gain insights when they meet the appellant in person at oral hearing which may influence the outcome of the appeal.

Decisions concerning entitlement to a social welfare payment or insurability of employment often require a high level of judgment and may involve complex legal questions. The Courts have found that decision makers are required to be free and unrestricted in discharging their functions.

Where an appellant requests an oral hearing, the request is generally granted unless the Appeals Officer is of the opinion that the appeal can be allowed on a summary basis, or where there is clearly nothing to be gained by granting an oral hearing, for example where the appeal question relates to contribution conditions or means and the underlying PRSI contribution figures or means are not disputed. Social Welfare legislation provides that an Appeal Officer may determine an appeal without an oral hearing where s/he is of the opinion that it can be determined fairly on the basis of the documentary evidence provided. In general, where there is a conflict in the documentary evidence presented, an Appeals Officer will convene an oral hearing in order to explore the evidence and seek to resolve any conflict.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Appeal Receipts 2015 – 2016

-	2015	2016 (to 31/10/2016)
Blind Person’s Pension	22	12
Carers Allowance	3,188	3,309
Carers Benefit	93	76
Child Benefit	552	521
Disability Allowance	6,435	4,077
Illness Benefit	1,204	739
Death Benefit	1	1
Partial Capacity Benefit	42	34
Domiciliary Care Allowance	1,258	1,032
Deserted Wives Benefit	19	6
Deserted Wives Allowance	1	-
Farm Assist	201	167
Bereavement Grant	6	3
Family Income Supplement	447	415
Invalidity Pension	1,857	1 ,168
Liable Relatives	26	17
Maternity Benefit	71	76
One Parent Family Payment	368	272
State Pension (Contributory)	264	291
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	348	320
State Pension (Transition)	3	2
Occupational Injury Benefit	65	49
Disablement Pension	347	272
Occupational Injury-Medical Care	4	4
Incapacity Supplement	12	9
Guardian's Payment (Con)	49	35
Guardian's Payment (Non-Con)	18	13
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means)	2,174	1,772
Jobseeker's Allowance	2,058	1,739
BTW Family Dividend	64	40
Jobseeker's Transitional	34	36
Recoverable Benefits & Assistance	26	21
Jobseeker's Benefit	735	549
Treatment Benefit	3	5
Carer’s Support Grant *	124	125
Insurability of Employment	156	97
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	2,125	1,760
Survivor's Pension (Con)	40	42
Survivor's Pension (Non-con)	25	19
Widows Parent Grant	10	7
All Appeals	24,475	19,132

* Previously called Respite Care Grant

Outcome of Disability Allowance Appeals 2015– 2016

		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	6,435	1,443	3,384	85	1,751	77
2016 ( to 31/10/2016 )	4,077	748	2,387	74	1,160	60

Outcome of Carer’s Allowance Appeals 2015– 2016

		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	3,188	579	1,352	155	1,355	50
2016 (to 31/10/2016)	3,309	504	1,083	120	1,036	37

Outcome of Jobseeker’s Allowance (Means) Appeals 2015– 2016

		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	2174	299	284	108	1,336	229
2016 ( to 31/10/2016 )	1,772	261	231	99	1,001	135

Outcome of Jobseeker’s Allowance (Payments) Appeals 2015– 2016

		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	2,058	260	536	116	972	175
2016 ( to 31/10/2016 )	1,739	240	427	80	810	104

Outcome of Supplementary Welfare Allowance Appeals 2015– 2016

		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	2,125	373	634	77	1,069	177
2016 ( to 31/10/2016 )	1,760	268	445	58	775	124

Outcome of Invalidity Pension Appeals 2015– 2016

		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	1,857	511	1,135	17	421	37
2016 ( to 31/10/2016 )	1,168	551	598	8	262	14

Outcome of Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals 2015– 2016

		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	1,258	313	571	40	226	8
2016 ( to 31/10/2016 )	1,032	324	518	18	230	10

Number and Outcome of Appeals Determined following Oral Hearings 2015

Benefit	Allowed	Partially allowed	Disallowed	No. of Oral Hearings
Blind Person’s Pension	1	0	3	4
Carers Allowance	733	101	516	1,350
Carers Benefit	10	5	18	33
Child Benefit	29	12	37	78
Disability Allowance	1,497	44	550	2,091
Illness Benefit	109	6	88	203
Partial Capacity Benefit	3	-	2	5
Death Benefit	-	-	1	1
Domiciliary Care Allowance	242	7	82	331
Deserted Wives Allowance	1	-	-	1
Deserted Wives Benefit	5	4	2	11
Farm Assist	23	14	30	67
Bereavement Grant	1	-	1	2
Liable Relatives	-	-	1	1
Family Income Supplement	16	3	19	38
Invalidity Pension	451	8	147	606
Maternity Benefit	-	-	6	6
One Parent Family Payment	62	15	65	142
State Pension (Contributory)	18	2	19	39
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	34	17	47	98
State Pension (Transition)	0	1	1	2
Occupational Injury Benefit	8	-	9	17
Disablement Pension	77	10	56	143
Incapacity Supplement	5	-	-	5
Guardian's Payment (Con)	6	3	4	13
Guardian's Payment (Non-Con)	5	-	-	5
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means)	172	57	253	482
Jobseeker's Allowance	227	59	208	494
Jobseeker's Transitional	1	-	-	1
Recoverable Benefits & Assistance	1	-	-	1
Jobseeker’s Benefit	45	19	37	101
Carer’s Support Grant *	18	2	13	33
Insurability of Employment	17	-	34	51
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	207	24	187	418
Survivor's Pension (Con)	3	0	3	6
Survivor's Pension (Non-con)	3	1	2	6
Widows Parent Grant	-	0	1	1
All Appeals	4,030	414	2,442	6,886

* Previously called Respite Care Grant

Number and Outcome of Appeals Determined following Oral Hearings 2016 (to 31/10/2016)

Benefit	Allowed	Partially allowed	Disallowed	No. of Oral Hearings
Blind Person’s Pension	3	-	2	5
Carers Allowance	657	70	446	1,173
Carers Benefit	8	2	5	15
Child Benefit	19	10	24	53
Disability Allowance	1,081	46	401	1,528
Illness Benefit	66	3	60	129
Partial Capacity Benefit	5	-	3	8
Domiciliary Care Allowance	226	7	96	329
Deserted Wives Benefit	4	-	2	6
Farm Assist	19	24	21	64
Liable Relatives	-	-	1	1
Family Income Supplement	25	4	15	44
Invalidity Pension	299	4	94	397
Maternity Benefit	7	1	3	11
One Parent Family Payment	38	13	40	91
State Pension (Contributory)	15	5	28	48
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	32	16	44	92
State Pension (Transition)	1	-	1	2
Occupational Injury Benefit	6	-	5	11
Disablement Pension	91	6	55	152
Incapacity Supplement	1	1	3	5
Guardian's Payment (Con)	7	-	5	12
Guardian's Payment (Non-Con)	8	1	1	10
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means)	104	47	146	297
Jobseeker's Allowance	187	48	181	416
Jobseeker's Transitional	2	-	5	7
Recoverable Benefits & Assistance	1	-	1	2
Jobseeker's Benefit	46	13	36	95
Carer’s Support Grant *	16	1	9	26
Insurability of Employment	14	-	17	31
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	141	17	118	276
Survivor's Pension (Con)	9	5	6	20
Survivor's Pension (Non-con)	2	1	2	5
Widows Parent Grant	-	-	1	1
All Appeals	3,140	345	1,877	5,362

* Previously called Respite Care Grant