Michael McDowell
Ceist:14 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will set up a separate independent appeals systems to deal with appeals of supplementary welfare allowance.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Appeals System.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, unlike other social welfare schemes, is administered by the health boards. Under the legislation governing the scheme the determination of entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance is a matter for the chief executive officer of the board. The legislation also provides for an appeals process and an appeals officer has been appointed in every board for this purpose.
I have recognised that there are a number of aspects of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which require review. In this regard an advisory group under the chairmanship of my Department has been established with representatives from all health boards. The question of standardising practices in relation to appeals has been discussed by the group and the observations of appeals officers in the health boards have been invited.
The object of the review is to improve consistency and to ensure equity for all appellants. Of particular importance will be the provision of improved information to the client on the right to appeal.
I believe that the appeals system can be improved significantly by introducing better quality information for clients, standardising application forms and explaining decisions to clients. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is designed to offer immediate assistance to people in need and, therefore, a rapid and localised response to supplementary welfare allowance appeals is required. Given the context in which the scheme operates, the capacity of the scheme to determine appeals speedily and simply could be lost if a more formalised appeals structure were to be established.