Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 March 2021
585. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the expected timeframe for a decision to be made on an application for the disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12916/21]
View answerDisability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance for people with a disability aged between 16 and 66 with a disability expected to last for at least one year and who satisfy the medical condition, means test and are habitually resident in Ireland.
Processing times vary across schemes, depending of the differing qualification criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness-related schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested payments can also require more detailed investigations and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision making process.
The average time taken to award a DA claim at the end of February 2021 was five weeks. My Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. The DA scheme area is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure applications are processed and customers are responded to as quickly as possible.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
