Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
709. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if precautions are in place to ensure that a person who decides to decline a payment to an applicant is not the person who conducts the appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47409/23]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office is an office of my Department which is independent in its decision making functions.
When an appeal is received in the appeals office it is registered and as required by regulations, the appeals office then notifies the department that the appeal has been lodged.
That notification requires that any file or documents relevant to the appeal is forwarded to the appeals office and seeks a submission from the Deciding Officer on the extent to which the facts advanced by the appellant are admitted or disputed.
At this point in the process, the department reviews the original decision to decide whether it should be revised in favour of the appellant.
Where the decision is not revised by the department, the file with the appeal submission is returned to the appeals office and added to the files awaiting assignment to an Appeals Officer.
The Appeals Officer will consider the evidence presented and decide and record the appeal decisions. The appellant will be notified of the outcome of the appeal and the file will be returned to the department for implementation of the decision.
An Appeal is not considered by a Deciding Officer.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.
