Social Welfare Benefits.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 February 2010

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Ceisteanna (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)

James Reilly

Ceist:

79 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the average processing time it takes in respect of a claim for jobseeker’s benefit to be dealt with. [9007/10]

John O'Mahony

Ceist:

87 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the average processing time for a jobseeker’s allowance claim to be dealt with; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9001/10]

Leo Varadkar

Ceist:

108 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons on a national, county and local social welfare office basis awaiting for their application for jobseeker’s allowance and benefit to be processed. [9009/10]

P. J. Sheehan

Ceist:

109 Deputy P. J. Sheehan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the processing time for individual social welfare offices to deal with a claim for jobseeker’s allowance. [8998/10]

Tom Sheahan

Ceist:

112 Deputy Tom Sheahan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the processing time for each individual social welfare office to deal with a claim in respect of jobseeker’s benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9002/10]

Mary Upton

Ceist:

133 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps she will take to shorten the waiting times in respect of jobseeker’s payments. [8914/10]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Deputy Mary Hanafin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 79, 87, 108, 109, 112 and 133 together.

The total number of jobseekers awaiting a decision on their claim at 13 February 2010 was 54,534. This is a reduction of over 7,500 compared with the figures one month earlier and represents 11% of the total jobseeker claimload nationwide.

As I have previously mentioned to the House, even when the Live Register was at its lowest, there would always be 9 or 10 per cent of claims awaiting a decision. The current performance should be seen in the context that in 2009 alone, local offices received over 670,000 jobseeker claims.

I have set out below a table showing the breakdown of jobseekers benefit (JB) and jobseekers allowance (JA) claims awaiting a decision at each local office.

Average processing times for jobseeker claims decided during January were 2.15 weeks for jobseeker's benefit and 6.82 weeks for jobseeker's allowance. This is marginally higher than the figures for December 2009 when they stood at 2.03 weeks and 6.22 weeks respectively. The slight dis-improvement was caused by the Christmas/New Year holiday period together with extra numbers coming onto the live register at the start of the year. This happens every year.

I have also set out below a table showing the processing times at each local office during January.

Deputies will be aware of the particular difficulties presented due to the huge rise in unemployment in the past 18 months or so and the pressure this has brought to bear on the network of local offices and in the inspectorate.

To alleviate some of this pressure since May 2008, some 400 extra staff have been assigned to local offices, new Central Support Units and the Departments Inspectorate. At the same time the Department has been examining procedures surrounding the claim acceptance and decisions process with a view to streamlining them and achieving greater efficiencies where possible. I have mentioned these initiatives on a number of occasions. They include:

An appointment system whereby claimants can have their claim taken and decided during the appointment. This particular initiative has helped greatly in reducing waiting times. We have this system in operation in 33 local offices and plan to extend it to further offices.

A more streamlined procedure for claimants moving to jobseekers allowance when their jobseekers benefit expires.

A streamlined process for people who had a claim in the previous two years.

Application forms for the jobseeker schemes are now available on the Department's website. This means that anyone who wants to make a claim can print the form at home and bring it to the local office completed. This helps reduce queuing times.

More straight-forward procedures for providing evidence of identity and address have been introduced.

One of these streamlining initiatives, which is being trialled at present, relates to customers who are applying for jobseekers allowance on the termination of their jobseekers benefit entitlement.

In any of these cases where there are no elements of self-employment or property involved in the means assessment, the person will self-certify the various components of their means and a decision will be made by the Deciding Officer without the need to refer the claim to an Inspector. As a control measure a certain proportion of these claims will be selected at random and will be referred to an inspector for verification of the declaration of means in advance of the decision being made. It is expected that this initiative will be rolled out to the network of local offices in the coming months.

I realise the importance of getting claims decided as quickly as possible and I want to assure the House that staff in local offices and in the Department's inspectorate are doing all they can to reduce the numbers of claims awaiting a decision.

Table 1: Jobseeker claims awaiting a decision — 13 Feb 2010

Local Office	Parent Office	SWLO/ SWBO	Claimload	Pending	% Pending
					%
Achill	Achill	SWLO	597	5	1
Apollo House	Apollo House	SWLO	3,029	193	6
Ardee	Drogheda	SWBO	2,783	514	18
Arklow	Arklow	SWLO	3,913	170	4
Athlone	Athlone	SWLO	4,680	511	11
Athy	Newbridge	SWBO	3,053	324	11
Balbriggan	Balbriggan	SWLO	5,440	804	15
Ballina	Ballina	SWLO	4,274	558	13
Ballinasloe	Athlone	SWBO	2,985	273	9
Ballinrobe	Loughrea	SWBO	1,436	148	10
Ballybofey	Donegal CO	SWBO	3,226	153	5
Ballyconnell	Cavan	SWBO	1,528	180	12
Ballyfermot	Ballyfermot	SWLO	3,754	260	7
Ballymun	Ballymun	SWLO	3,162	169	5
Ballyshannon	Donegal CO	SWBO	1,854	69	4
Baltinglass	Newbridge	SWBO	1,772	183	10
Bandon	Carrigaline	SWBO	1,883	196	10
Bantry	Bantry CO	SWBO	1,593	178	11
Bantry CO	Bantry CO	SWLO	434	39	9
Belmullet	Belmullet	SWLO	1,326	24	2
Birr	Athlone	SWBO	2,568	195	8
Bishop Square	Bishop Square	SWLO	10,319	1,253	12
Blanchardstown	Blanchardstown	SWLO	9,141	1,667	18
Boyle	Longford	SWBO	1,272	168	13
Bray	Bray	SWLO	5,960	370	6
Buncrana	Buncrana	SWLO	5,990	534	9
Cahir	Clonmel	SWBO	1,512	78	5
Cahirciveen	Cahirciveen	SWLO	1,041	84	8
Carlow	Carlow	SWLO	4,255	241	6
Carrickmacross	Dundalk	SWBO	1,985	137	7
Carrick-on-Shannon	Carrick-on-Shannon	SWLO	3,188	192	6
Carrick-on-Suir	Waterford	SWBO	2,281	298	13
Carrigaline	Carrigaline	SWLO	2,839	289	10
Cashel	Clonmel	SWBO	1,335	84	6
Castlebar	Castlebar	SWLO	2,845	325	11
Castleblaney	Dundalk	SWBO	2,197	150	7
Castlepollard	Mullingar	SWBO	1,667	263	16
Castlerea	Ballina	SWBO	2,313	411	18
Cavan	Cavan	SWLO	7,256	867	12
Claremorris	Ballina	SWBO	1,970	326	17
Clifden	Clifden	SWLO	1,669	80	5
Clonakilty	Carrigaline	SWBO	1,544	176	11
Clondalkin	Clondalkin	SWLO	10,884	1,158	11
Clones	Dundalk	SWBO	992	55	6
Clonmel	Clonmel	SWLO	3,087	213	7
Cobh	Cobh	SWLO	1,300	67	5
Coolock	Coolock	SWLO	5,844	773	13
Cork	Cork	SWLO	22,222	3,373	15
Dingle	Tralee	SWBO	988	51	5
Donegal	Donegal CO	SWBO	1,907	93	5
Drogheda	Drogheda	SWLO	9,145	1,316	14
Dun Laoghaire	Dun Laoghaire	SWLO	8,708	952	11
Dundalk	Dundalk	SWLO	7,433	348	5
Dunfanaghy	Dunfanaghy	SWLO	1,931	60	3
Dungarvan	Waterford	SWBO	2,569	276	11
Dungloe	Dungloe	SWLO	2,661	96	4
Edenderry	Mullingar	SWBO	2,553	388	15
Ennis	Ennis	SWLO	7,209	734	10
Enniscorthy	Wexford	SWBO	5,269	646	12
Ennistymon	Ennis	SWBO	2,170	189	9
Fermoy	Mallow CO	SWBO	3,108	348	11
Finglas	Finglas	SWLO	6,341	416	7
Galway	Galway	SWLO	14,919	2,064	14
Gorey	Wexford	SWBO	4,589	645	14
Gort	Ennis	SWBO	1,961	268	14
Kells	Navan	SWBO	2,222	344	15
Kenmare	Kenmare	SWLO	963	37	4
Kilbarrack	Kilbarrack	SWLO	6,219	492	8
Kilkenny	Kilkenny	SWLO	7,166	496	7
Killarney	Killarney	SWLO	4,057	581	14
Killorglin	Tralee	SWBO	1,638	59	4
Killybegs	Donegal CO	SWBO	1,495	55	4
Kilmallock	Newcastlewest	SWBO	3,093	216	7
Kilrush	Ennis	SWBO	1,767	205	12
King’s Inns Street	King’s Inns Street	SWLO	8,816	544	6
Kinsale	Carrigaline	SWBO	1,592	131	8
Letterkenny	Letterkenny	SWLO	6,690	322	5
Limerick	Limerick	SWLO	17,116	2,481	14
Listowel	Listowel	SWLO	3,701	293	8
Longford	Longford	SWLO	6,283	862	14
Loughrea	Loughrea	SWLO	3,038	393	13
Macroom	Mallow CO	SWBO	2,342	324	14
Mallow	Mallow CO	SWBO	3,036	278	9
Manorhamilton	Manorhamilton	SWLO	1,161	42	4
Maynooth	Ballyfermot	SWBO	7,012	973	14
Midleton	Carrigaline	SWBO	3,670	380	10
Monaghan	Dundalk	SWBO	3,122	213	7
Muine Bheag	Carlow	SWBO	2,164	150	7
Mullingar	Mullingar	SWLO	5,813	1,074	18
Navan	Navan	SWLO	6,534	1,425	22
Navan Road	Navan Road	SWLO	7,225	1,157	16
Nenagh	Thurles	SWBO	3,412	221	6
New Ross	Wexford	SWBO	3,906	481	12
Newbridge	Newbridge	SWLO	10,784	1,443	13
Newcastle West	Newcastlewest	SWLO	4,084	217	5
Newmarket	Listowel	SWBO	2,597	289	11
Nutgrove	Nutgrove	SWLO	5,791	236	4
Portarlington	Tullamore	SWBO	3,721	516	14
Portlaoise	Kilkenny	SWBO	4,258	497	12
Rathdowney	Kilkenny	SWBO	1,384	173	13
Roscommon	Longford	SWBO	1,602	150	9
Roscrea	Thurles	SWBO	1,546	80	5
Skibbereen	Bantry CO	SWBO	1,759	161	9
Sligo	Sligo	SWLO	5,280	597	11
Swinford	Ballina	SWBO	2,177	363	17
Swords	Swords	SWLO	5,221	806	15
Tallaght	Tallaght	SWLO	11,657	986	8
Thomas Street	Thomas Street	SWLO	5,194	335	6
Thomastown	Waterford	SWBO	1,646	226	14
Thurles	Thurles	SWLO	3,362	205	6
Tipperary	Clonmel	SWBO	1,958	134	7
Tralee	Tralee	SWLO	8,706	341	4
Trim	Navan	SWBO	4,155	864	21
Tuam	Loughrea	SWBO	4,446	482	11
Tubbercurry	Sligo	SWBO	1,262	28	2
Tulla	Ennis	SWBO	1,851	222	12
Tullamore	Tullamore	SWLO	4,673	287	6
Tullow	Carlow	SWBO	1,818	158	9
Waterford	Waterford	SWLO	14,348	1,620	11
Westport	Westport	SWLO	2,522	127	5
Wexford	Wexford	SWLO	8,042	865	11
Wicklow	Arklow	SWBO	2,458	100	4
Youghal	Carrigaline	SWBO	2,033	129	6
			511,247	54,534	11

Table 2: Average Processing times for Jobseeker claims in January 2010

	JB	JA
NATIONAL AVG	2.15	6.82
Achill	0.08	0.36
Apollo House	1.00	5.13
Ardee	3.17	9.39
Arklow	0.99	2.59
Athlone	3.99	5.09
Athy	2.63	6.98
Balbriggan	2.72	7.84
Ballina	2.97	8.05
Ballinasloe	1.85	8.87
Ballinrobe	1.17	9.48
Ballybofey	1.19	2.20
Ballyconnell	2.66	8.71
Ballyfermot	2.07	4.32
Ballymun	1.05	3.11
Ballyshannon	1.53	4.01
Baltinglass	2.29	7.92
Bandon	3.24	7.56
Bantry	2.66	6.21
Bantry Co	3.15	6.53
Belmullet	1.36	2.80
Birr	1.82	5.92
Bishop Square	1.69	10.02
Blanchardstown	1.76	13.34
Boyle	2.46	11.46
Bray	1.47	3.02
Buncrana	3.26	5.83
Cahir	1.60	2.59
Cahirciveen	2.06	4.74
Carlow	1.29	3.52
Carrickmacross	1.25	6.47
Carrick-On-Shannon	1.31	7.14
Carrick-On-Suir	4.03	5.32
Carrigaline	2.10	8.45
Cashel	1.66	4.43
Castlebar	3.24	3.54
Castleblayney	1.68	5.43
Castlepollard	2.78	17.72
Castlerea	3.05	12.58
Cavan	2.70	8.18
Claremorris	2.80	10.03
Clifden	1.50	5.47
Clonakilty	3.42	6.88
Clondalkin	2.26	6.97
Clones	1.24	3.82
Clonmel	0.81	2.91
Cobh	1.16	2.39
Coolock	3.65	5.85
Cork	1.61	9.39
Dingle	1.83	3.80
Donegal	1.68	2.95
Drogheda	2.37	9.58
Dun Laoghaire	1.69	5.99
Dundalk	1.02	2.85
Dunfanaghy	1.82	3.13
Dungarvan	2.53	6.54
Dungloe	1.58	5.15
Edenderry	2.47	14.78
Ennis	2.06	4.99
Enniscorthy	2.63	5.52
Ennistymon	2.62	4.56
Fermoy	3.62	7.22
Finglas	1.73	5.50
Galway	2.16	8.53
Gorey	2.93	8.00
Gort	4.22	7.87
Kells	2.74	10.90
Kenmare	1.31	3.26
Kilbarrack	1.62	2.91
Kilkenny	0.98	5.24
Killarney	1.11	10.13
Killorglin	1.53	3.63
Killybegs	0.70	2.03
Kilmallock	2.54	3.49
Kilrush	4.30	3.81
Kings Inns Street	1.23	3.09
Kinsale	2.22	7.74
Letterkenny	1.19	3.07
Limerick	3.78	9.83
Listowel	1.46	4.33
Longford	2.63	16.15
Loughrea	1.25	8.54
Macroom	5.30	7.72
Mallow Branch Office	3.66	4.27
Manorhamilton	0.85	1.07
Maynooth	3.59	10.48
Midleton	2.47	5.95
Monaghan	1.75	4.67
Muine Bheag	0.97	5.99
Mullingar	2.96	14.72
Navan	1.35	14.19
Navan Road	2.53	10.21
Nenagh	1.49	3.06
New Ross	3.43	8.13
Newbridge	2.24	5.79
Newcastle West	1.73	3.83
Newmarket	4.77	6.95
Nutgrove	1.93	2.19
Portarlington	1.60	9.03
Portlaoise	2.52	5.18
Rathdowney	3.02	3.68
Roscommon	1.99	5.97
Roscrea	1.35	3.40
Skibbereen	2.58	7.44
Sligo	1.28	8.15
Swinford	2.21	11.08
Swords LO	4.19	6.61
Tallaght	1.69	7.11
Thomas Street	1.59	5.60
Thomastown	4.02	6.46
Thurles	1.25	3.02
Tipperary	1.98	3.42
Tralee	2.01	3.75
Trim	2.97	10.16
Tuam	1.01	11.49
Tubbercurry	0.94	3.63
Tulla	4.29	5.07
Tullamore	1.22	5.98
Tullow	1.43	8.10
Waterford	3.21	6.08
Westport	2.60	1.65
Wexford	1.61	3.19
Wicklow	1.81	2.68
Youghal	2.15	3.58