Figures are not readily available on the time taken to process appeals in the Galway area. At present there is one widow's pension appeal awaiting an oral hearing in County Galway. There are no widow's pension appeals outstanding at any location which were received prior to 2004. Of the 15,224 new appeals registered during 2003, 253, or 1.7%, remain to be finalised. At present there are 4,933 cases awaiting attention in the appeals office. Of these, 13 are widow's pension appeals. Appeals officers have held hearings in Galway on 48 days since the beginning of 2004. A total of 302 cases were heard at these sessions.
The social welfare appeals system is a quasi-judicial one and the procedures involved are designed to ensure that every appellant's case gets full and satisfactory consideration. There is an inevitable time-lag in such a process which is governed by statutory and fair procedure requirements. Appeals officers deal with the full range of social welfare questions, including unemployment, incapacity, insurability, disability, old age and carers' needs. Some are more complex than others and the number of cases dealt with in any session would depend on the issues arising.
The oral hearing process is designed to ensure that the appellant fully understands the question for determination and that he or she is afforded every opportunity to question the basis of the decision and to present his or her appeal fully.
