Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
558. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons currently awaiting the outcome of appeal in respect of refusal of disability allowance; the extent to which such appeals are being expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39316/22]
View answerThe 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.
All claim decisions taken by the Department’s Deciding Officers and Designated Persons are appealable to the Chief Appeals Officer. In any year about 85% of all claims are awarded by the Department and just 2% are appealed. Nevertheless, the Department endeavours to ensure that these cases are dealt with as quickly as possible.
The time taken to process an appeal reflects a number of factors including that the appeals process is a quasi-judicial process with Appeals Officers being required to decide all appeals on a ‘de-novo’ basis. In addition, appeals decisions are themselves subject to review by the High Court and decisions have to be formally written up to quasi-judicial standards.
The desire to process appeals quickly has to be balanced with the competing demand to ensure that decisions are consistent and of high quality and made in accordance with the legislative provisions and the general principles of fair procedures and natural justice.
Further improvements in appeals processing times is a priority for the Chief Appeals Officer.
At the end of June 2022 there were 1,252 Disability Allowance appeals waiting finalisation.
The table below provides the average processing times for Disability Allowance appeals for the year 2021 and also for the period 1 January to 30 June 2022.
Disability Allowance Average Processing Times
|
- |
2021 |
1 Jan to 30 June 2022 |
|
By Oral Hearing |
20.2 weeks |
19.9 Weeks |
|
By Summary |
12.3 weeks |
11.4 Weeks |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
