Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 February 2022
17. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which backlogs in respect of applications for support are being eliminated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5340/22]
View answerWe have inherited some backlogs over a long number of years and there has been a build-up in backlogs. I seek to ascertain the extent to which, for example, outstanding issues, appeals, oral hearings etc, can be implemented in order to address emerging issues as we emerge from Covid.
My Department understands the many pressures faced by customers and always seeks to ensure that claims are handled quickly and efficiently. I am pleased to report that claim processing is up to date with processing targets met, or exceeded, on average for all the main scheme areas. As an example, over the past two years substantial improvements in processing performance was achieved across most schemes but especially in the carers and disability areas, where claims are now consistently processed within four to five weeks, compared with 14 weeks in 2019. I am particularly pleased that the positive processing times have been maintained through the period of the pandemic.
My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all customers and ensuring that claims are processed as quickly as possible. Any backlogs arising are addressed without delay through a range of measures, including system changes and the allocation of additional resources where needed.
While there have been high volumes of Covid enhanced illness benefit applications over the past month as a result of the transmission of the omicron variant, 92% of these applications are being processed within a week. Applications that require a manual intervention are taking approximately two weeks to process but my officials are working hard to minimise any delays. There are no backlogs arsing in respect of standard illness benefit applications. Delays can arise where a person submits an application without all of the necessary supporting documentation. It is important that anyone applying for social welfare payments should provide as much information as possible when sending in a claim as this will enable a decision to be made much more quickly.
Overall, I am very proud that my Department continues to ensure that the customer experience has not been diminished by the effects of Covid-19, and that the customer service has been maintained at a high level.
I am so aware and I congratulate the Minister on the work that has been done during the very challenging past two years. The Minister and her Department can rightly take a bow for the work that has been done.
Obviously oral hearings could not take place due to regulations so a number of them are outstanding at the moment. How does the Minister propose to give the people concerned their chance for an oral hearing as soon as possible?
For the record, the staff of the Department of Social Protection have processed over 1.8 million applications for the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, alone during the Covid pandemic. There is normally about 200,000 applications per annum for the jobseeker's allowance. We have all acknowledged the good work that my staff have done and it is important that we do not forget that my staff have processed ten years' worth of applications.
The Deputy has raised the issue of oral hearing and appeals before with me. I know that he has a keen interest in them. I also know that he does a huge amount of work, on behalf of his constituents, in terms of helping them. Sometimes oral hearings can be nerve-racking for the applicant and I know that the Deputy is always there to help his constituents. We have improved the times. I think that the Deputy has one case with me at the minute and my Department is looking into it. If the Deputy has an issue that he wants me to raise then I am happy to follow up the matter.
I thank the Minister. Huge improvements have taken place and huge volumes of responsibility have been taken on, and discharged, in an exemplary manner. I thank and congratulate the Minister and her officials on that work.
I have long had an interest in oral hearings. It is important that we get them up to speed as quickly as possible and I know that the Minister is attending to that at the moment. The important feature of oral hearings is that they give constituents an opportunity of having their say face to face. Most often, information is revealed that was either overlooked previously or was in the system but was not in the right place at the right time. An oral hearing gives people their full constitutional rights in an upfront face-to-face situation.
The Deputy is right. It is hard to beat a face-to-face interaction. Many times applications are turned down because all of the information has not been provided and perhaps people are unaware that it was an important piece of information that would help make a decision on their application.
We were able to do some oral hearings and appeals online during the Covid pandemic. We continue to use new technology to make our systems more efficient. As the Deputy has said, oral hearings are important. I do not have the figure for the number of hearings that are currently in the system with me and I will get that figure for the Deputy.
It is important we do that and that our customers are looked after and served in a timely and efficient way.
We can go back to Question No. 14. We had skipped it so the sequencing is out.
