Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 October 2022
497. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the processing time and current backlog in terms of the number of appeals for invalidity pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51149/22]
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 around 85% of all claims are awarded by the Department and just 2% are appealed. The Social Welfare Appeals Office and the Department endeavour to ensure that these cases are dealt with as promptly 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 need to ensure that decisions are consistent, of high quality and made in accordance with the appropriate legislative provisions and the general principles of fair procedures and natural justice. Further improvements in appeals processing times are a priority for the Chief Appeals Officer.
The table below provides the average processing times for Invalidity Pension appeals for the year 2021 and for the period from 1 January to 30 September 2022.
Invalidity Pension Appeals Average Processing Times
|
2021 |
1 Jan to 30 September 2022 |
|
|
By Oral Hearing |
19.4 weeks |
15.6 Weeks |
|
By Summary Decision |
14.9 weeks |
13.8 Weeks |
There was a total of 379 Invalidity Pension appeals on hand at the end of September 2022.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
