Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 June 2019
700. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the actions she is taking to reduce the waiting periods for those applying for disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26150/19]
View answerMy Department is committed to making decisions on entitlement as quickly as possible.
The target processing time for the DA scheme is to process 75% of new claims within 12 weeks. In May 2019, the average waiting time for new DA applications was 14 weeks.
My Department recognises that the current processing times for DA must be improved and is working to achieve this. The current processes in place and resources assigned to this area of my Department, along with the number of Medical Assessors available to provide medical opinions are kept under constant review to ensure that any delays are minimised.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
