Kathleen Funchion
Question:842. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason it has taken over ten months for a decision to be made on an invalidity appeal claim by a person (details supplied). [13568/23]
View answerTuesday, 21 March 2023
Questions (842)
Written answers
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 Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an invalidity pension appeal by the person concerned was received in that office on 24 October 2022. The appeal was the subject of some correspondence between the Department, the Appeals Office and the Deputy's office in order to determine that it could be registered as a valid appeal. The appeal was subsequently registered on 26 January 2023.
It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. In light of the circumstances of this case, the Appeals Office has requested those papers urgently and, once received, the appeal will be assigned as a priority case to an Appeals Officer. The Appeals Officer will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral hearing.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.