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Departmental Contingency Planning

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 May 2017

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Questions (165)

Eamon Ryan

Question:

165. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has implemented procedural changes in the workings of his Department to lessen the chance that the issue of reported delays in maternity benefit, which occurred recently, will not reoccur; if so, the details of such changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26235/17]

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Written answers

Maternity benefit is a payment made to women who are on maternity leave from work and covered by social insurance (PRSI). The rate of maternity benefit was increased to €235 in the 2017 Budget and allowances for dependent adults and children are available to those who qualify.

Maternity benefit section is currently experiencing some difficulty with processing all claims in advance of their maternity leave commencement date. Corrective actions have been taken and good progress is being made. However, there are still a number of mothers that will receive their first payment up to 3 to 4 weeks after they commence their maternity leave. The number has reduced to 700 at 29 May; down from 1,100 at 22 May.

Additional staff have been assigned to the section. Staff have also been moved from other areas in Buncrana and Letterkenny, to work on processing maternity claims as a temporary measure. Information section in Sligo is handling phone calls, freeing up maternity benefit staff for claim processing work. Staff have also been working overtime, including Saturdays, to ensure as many claims as possible get processed and paid by their commencement date.

Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that claim processing capability is maximised. This is also the case with maternity benefit and the lessons learned from the corrective actions taken will be evaluated and considered as part of this continual review process.

The focus remains on ensuring that all claims are processed as quickly as possible.

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