Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 October 2021
289. Deputy Cathal Berry asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which the processing of applications for the carer’s and disability allowance is in line with the most expeditious practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49082/21]
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.
Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the different 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 also require more detailed investigation and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision making process.
The table below shows the very significant improvement in new claim decision making that has been achieved over recent years for Carer's Allowance (CA) and Disability Allowance (DA). This has been maintained by my Department throughout the period of the pandemic.
|
Average time (weeks) for new claim decision |
||||
|
Scheme Name |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
As at end august 2021 |
|
Carer’s Allowance |
17 |
14 |
7 |
5 |
|
Disability Allowance |
13 |
13 |
7 |
6 |
There are no delays in processing claims where all of the information is provided to establish entitlement to CA and DA schemes.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
