The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
The Office is committed to enhancing its operations to deliver an efficient and effective appeals service to its customers. To support this goal a programme of process redesign and modernisation is in hand. This programme includes the development and implementation of an enhanced appeals business process and the development of a new computer system.
A customer centric, multi-channel solution, modernising and transforming the appeals process across the Department and the Appeals Office is envisaged. This solution will require operational and procedural changes and will also reflect a number of recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The current Appeals Regulations have been in place since 1998 and while the work of the Office has expanded greatly over the years, the Regulations have not been amended in any significant way in the intervening years. Consequently, it is now an appropriate juncture at which to review and amend the Regulations underpinning the appeals process. Changes introduced by the Regulations are intended provide an improved appeals service to customers.
Oral hearings have been successfully conducted online or by telephone since October 2020 and this approach has proven to be an efficient and effective way of facilitating an oral hearing previously achieved by holding an in-person hearing. The revised Regulations introduce a requirement on Appeals Officers to consult with a Deputy Chief Appeals Officer on the need for an oral hearing.
Under the current Regulations, appeals relating to the ‘medical’ conditionality of the illness, disability and caring schemes are determined by Appeals Officers who are not medically qualified even though the decision as to whether or not a person satisfies these scheme conditions is a subjective judgement based on medical evidence.
The revised Regulations introduce a provision that any appeal relating to a person’s capacity to work or requirement for care shall be determined either by an Appeals Officer who is a registered medical practitioner or, if not a registered practitioner, that the Appeals Officer will be obliged to seek the opinion of a medical assessor.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office is committed to providing a programme of training and all necessary supports to its Appeals Officers. The Chief Appeals Officer has confirmed that any training requirements for staff arising from the revised Regulations will be addressed.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
