Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020
801. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the backlog in processing claims for and making non-Covid-19 related payments; her plans for dealing with this backlog; the timeline for resolving this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12739/20]
View answerMy Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
There are no backlogs in most of the Departments scheme areas at present. All scheme areas are up to date on claim processing with the exception of the jobseekers scheme where there is a backlog, currently being worked down. It should be noted that most current applications for a jobseekers payment are already financially better off on the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment. Priority is being given to processing jobseeker claims for persons who are not entitled to the pandemic unemployment payment or whose circumstances are such that they are entitled to more than the €350 rate on a jobseeker's payment.
I wish to reassure the Deputy that claim processing is kept under active review, with all possible steps taken to ensure good customer service. This includes the assignment of additional resources, where available, and the review of business processes, to ensure the efficient processing of applications as required.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
