asked the Minister for Social Welfare the average length of time for an appeal to be heard for (a) old age pension (b) unemployment assistance and (c) unemployment benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
109.
Appeals may be dealt with either on the basis of an oral hearing or they may be dealt with summarily. Where cases which are deemed suitable to be dealt with summarily they are normally determined within four to six weeks from date of submission to the appeals officer to date of decision. Each appeal is determined on the basis of its own particular merit. An appellant is required to state the grounds on which the appeal is based and where the contentions are at variance with the information already available a further investigation has to be made. In many cases this may result in prolonged inquiries by a social welfare officer before the case can be submitted to an appeals officer.
Where no further investigation is required by the appeals officer it is estimated that the time taken to process an oral hearing from the date of submission to the appeals officer to the date of hearing is normally six to eight weeks in Dublin and somewhat longer in provincial areas.