Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
550. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education the average waiting times for inquiries to be answered and replied to for secondary school teachers who are contacting the pension unit of his Department in Cornamaddy, Athlone, County Westmeath; the reason for the current delays; the measures being taken to help alleviate these delays; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52971/21]
View answerThe Pension Unit of my Department receives approximately 700 queries per week via email and telephone.
In instances of general queries, a response issues to the Customer within two to three days. For more complex queries, an initial acknowledgement will issue to the teacher and the query is then forwarded to the relevant area within the Pension Unit for their direct response and resolution. Response times are dependent on the complexity of the individual query and the priority assigned to the query.
Priority is given to processing queries, statements and benefits for teachers who will retire in the current year. Other priority criteria includes a need to process certain pension issues within particular timelines such as family law issues.
With regard to measures being taken to prevent delays the Pension Unit has, since 2020, undertaken a School Contact Exercise to pre-emptively gather and prepare information on individual teacher/SNA retirements in each calendar year to effectively plan and deliver a more efficient service.
