Deciding officers and appeals officers are independent in their decision making and are required to apply the law on a case-by-case basis. All statutory decisions are bound by the relevant provisions of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 and associated regulations. The legislation provides for a transparent and fair decision-making process in conjunction with the control of social welfare schemes. Every claimant is entitled to have their claim considered in the context of determinations of entitlement under the relevant social welfare legislation and in accordance with the principles of natural justice.
A deciding officer may at any time revise any decision of a deciding officer by reason of an error having been made in relation to the law or facts or in light of new evidence or facts brought to his or her attention since the date on which the original decision was made. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
The legislation provides that any unfavourable statutory decision made by a deciding officer or an appeals officer must be communicated in writing to the claimant outlining the reasons for the decision. The Department’s Decisions Advisory Office has published guidelines for Deciding Officers and Designated Persons on the legal requirements for reasoned statutory decisions. The guidelines include ‘Decision Making and Natural Justice’; Reasons for Decisions’ and ‘Revised Decisions and their Date of Effect’.
The natural justice principle of ensuring that the reasoning underpinning a decision is clearly set out is included as standard in all guidelines and applies to decisions made on all schemes including illness-related schemes. The guidelines are updated continuously and concurrently with any relevant legislative changes or principles emerging from relevant case law of the Courts. The guidelines were recently reviewed and will be re-issued to all staff of my Department in the coming days and will be re-published on the Department’s website.
Training is provided to all decision makers and emphasises the importance of ensuring that the grounds, reasons and rationale for an unfavourable decision are clearly communicated to the customer. My Department and the Social Welfare Appeals Office consult with each other on issues related to decision letters to ensure consistency of decisions made by both deciding officers and appeals officers.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
