(Cavan) asked the Minister for Social Welfare (a) the number of deciding officers and (b) the number of appeals officers under the Social Welfare Acts employed in his Department on the 1st April of every year from 1953 to the latest available date.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Officers.
141.
The number of deciding officers under the Social Welfare Acts employed in the Department of Social Welfare at present is 384 and the number of appeals officers is seven. Figures are not readily available of the numbers of deciding officers on the 1st April each year since 1953. The numbers would not vary greatly year by year. The appeals officers cadre has varied as follows: 1953, five; 1960, six; 1966, seven.
142.
(Cavan) asked the Minister for Social Welfare the grade or rank of (1) deciding officers and (2) appeals officers under the Social Welfare Acts stating in the case of (1) the Civil Service grade or grades to which these officers belong and what arrangements are made with a view to training them (i) before and (ii) after appointment and in the case of (2) the number of years every such officer spent as a deciding officer, the Civil Service grade to which he belongs and the maximum salary, including allowances, payable to members of the grade to which such appeals officer belongs.
The grades of deciding officers in the Department of Social Welfare, with the numbers of such officers in parentheses, are as follows: clerical officer (143), staff officer (130), executive officer (46), higher executive officer (37), assistant principal officer (20), principal officer (7) and assistant secretary (1). The grades of appeals officers in the Department are assistant principal officer (6) and principal officer (1). The principal officer is the Chief Appeals Officer.
Only officers who have experience of Social Welfare legislation are appointed deciding officers or appeals officers. Before appointment, therefore, these officers have familiarised themselves with the duties required of them as deciding officers or appeals officers. On appointment they are given such further on-the-job training as may be found necessary. Duties as deciding officers form only part and sometimes only a very small part of the duties of deciding officers; many of these officers are occupied for the most part in aspects of day to day administration of the social services which do not involve the deciding of cases.
The information requested about the number of years service of appeals officers as deciding officers, the grades and the salaries, including allowances, of these officers is set out in the following table:—
|
Number serving at 3/3/1966 |
Grade |
Number of years service as Deciding Officer* before appointment as Appeals Officer |
Maximum Salary |
||
|
Number of Officers |
Number of years service |
||||
|
Principal Officer (Chief Appeals Officer). |
1 |
10 |
Scale A =£2,715 |
(a) |
|
|
Scale B =£3,045 |
|||||
|
6 |
Assistant Principal Officer (Appeals Officer). |
11 |
1210 |
Scale A=£2,095Scale B=£2,435 |
(b) |
|
1 |
8 |
||||
|
1 |
3 |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
||||
|
1 |
— |
(a)An allowance of £131 per annum is payable to the Chief Appeals Officer.
(b)An allowance of £66 per annum is payable to 1 Appeals Officer for duties as Deputy Chief Appeals Officer.
*Deciding officers came into existence on the coming into operation of the Social Welfare Act, 1952, on the 5th January, 1953.