Vol. 415 No. 2
15 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he has satisfied himself with the operation of the social welfare appeals office; if he intends to implement any changes in the light of the experience so far; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The social welfare appeals office is an independent and self contained office. It is separate from the rest of the Department. It was established on an administrative basis in late 1990s and took over the proceedings of all social welfare appeals from 1 January 1991. The office was not established on a formal statutory basis. It came into being following the enactment of necessary amendments to the Social Welfare Act, 1990, Part V, sections 19 to 22 inclusive. Those amendments changed the way appeals were to be made and dealt essentially with substituting the chief appeals officer for the Minister in the legislation. The Social Welfare Appeals Office is headed by a director and a chief appeals officer and they are statutorily required to submit an annual report to the Minister for Social Welfare.
Is the Minister saying, by implication, that he does not have any function in respect of the way in which the appeals office operates? I accept that in structure the office is independent but in practice it leaves a lot to be desired. Is the Minister aware that the office appears not to have an independent investigative procedure but relies primarily for its information on the file from the Department? This fact causes disquiet to people who feel they are not getting a fully independent investigation into their cause for appeal.
The office is separate from the rest of the Department. It is independent and self-contained in D'Olier Street. The current staff of the office comprises a director and chief appeals officer, a deputy chief appeals officer, 13 appeals officers and includes two temporary appeals officers and 36 general administration staff.
When will the report be published?
If I forward the Minister the details of one case to illustrate the difficulties that have been brought to my attention with regard to the operation of the appeals system, a difficulty that may relate to staffing and other resource problems, will he be prepared to look into the matter and respond in due course? I am concerned to ensure that the Minister does not walk away from this whole area simply because he is promised a report at the end of each year.
It is not my intention to walk away from this or any other issue. I had a number of complaints mainly from Deputies about delays in the appeals office. The reason for the delays is something I cannot determine at this stage, but in view of repeated representations I will have the matter examined fairly quickly and I will report back. I see that some temporary staff have been appointed and perhaps that was something to do with the problem. If the problem arises from shortage of staff I will certainly deal with it because appeals should be dealt with efficiently, speedily and effectively.
When will we get the annual report?
I have some documentation and leaflets which I can circulate to Deputies.
That disposes of questions for today.
