Paul McAuliffe
Question:872. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an invalidity pension appeal by a person (details supplied). [1043/25]
View answerWednesday, 22 January 2025
Questions (872)
Written answers
The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.
I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision.
An Appeals Officer’s decision is generally final and conclusive and can only be revised in certain limited circumstances:
(i) by an Appeals Officer under Section 317 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 where new facts or evidence have been provided which were not before the Appeals Officer when he made his decision which, had they been before him, would have rendered the decision erroneous;
(ii) by the Chief Appeals Officer under Section 318 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 where it has been established that in making the decision the Appeals Officer has made a mistake in relation to the law or the facts; or
(iii) by an appeal to the High Court on any question of law in accordance with Section 327 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.