Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 February 2010
408 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the action she proposes to take to eliminate the backlog and dramatically reduce the waiting time of applicants for various social welfare payments regarding the current economic climate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9245/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers. To this end, operational processes and procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed and supported by modern technology in all areas of the Department. Claims are processed in the most efficient and expeditious way possible, having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply to each scheme.
Processing times vary across schemes because of both the volume of applications and the differing qualification criteria. For example, means assessments are required for all of the social assistance schemes; medical examinations are required for illness related schemes and customers must also satisfy the habitual residence conditions. In the case of the insurance based schemes, it may be necessary to ascertain details of foreign insurance records.
It should also be noted that many factors outside the Department's control can impact upon claim processing times e.g. the supply of relevant information by the customer, employers or other third parties. From January 2009, new processing targets, based on processing 90% of claims within a particular timescale, were introduced for all schemes. Specific process improvements have been introduced across many areas of the Department. Some recent examples of these are as follows:
Jobseekers
A range of process improvement initiatives to deal with the increased volume of Jobseekers claims has been introduced. In addition, six Local Office Support Units have been set up around the country to support the processing of claims. The number of claims awaiting a decision as of the 13th February 2010 was 54,534. This is a significant reduction on the 82,000 that were pending in July and illustrates that the additional resources that have been assigned to local offices coupled with the range of process improvement initiatives are having a positive effect.
State Pensions
In order to ensure that entitlement to a pension is decided by the due date all pensioners are advised to apply at least three months in advance of pension age and people are pro- actively invited to claim. In addition, a desk assessment process has been introduced in State Pension Non-Contributory, whereby claims are processed and decided based on the information provided by the customer on their application form without recourse to investigation by a Social Welfare Inspector.
Automated processing and On-line Application Forms
To ensure that claims are processed as efficiently as possible and that customers receive their entitlements in a timely manner all application forms have been designed to facilitate the use of scanning and automated processing. An on-line facility to enable applications for a number of schemes, i.e. State Pension (Contributory) and Household Benefits, to be completed and submitted on-line, has been implemented. This facility will be extended to other schemes in the coming months. The objective is to enable people to access services at a time and place that best suits their needs. The use of on-line application forms reduces the administrative burden for customers and facilitates efficient processing of claims by the Department.
The need to ensure that people can receive financial support from the Department as early as possible is of course appreciated, and I assure the Deputy that we continuously strive to improve processing times in all schemes. In the meantime, it is important to remember that people who have urgent income support needs can apply for the means tested supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) and that more than 95% of basic SWA applications are decided on and paid within a week.
409 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of applications for jobseeker’s, unemployment assistance, disability allowance or sick benefit received from persons who were previously self-employed in each of the past three years and to date in 2010; the number of such applications approved, rejected or pending; the criteria applicable for qualification for such persons for a means tested payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9246/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraDue to staff action currently being taken, I regret that I am unable to provide the information sought by the Deputy.
410 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of applications for mortgage support received in each of the past three years and to date in 2010; the number approved, rejected or pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9248/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra411 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of applications for rent support received in each of the past three years and to date in 2010; the number approved, rejected or pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9249/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 410 and 411 together.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides for a weekly or monthly supplement to be paid in respect of rent or mortgage interest to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive on behalf of the Department.
The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support, to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Similarly, mortgage interest supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only.
The following tabular statements show the number of rent and mortgage interest supplement claims registered and awarded in: 2007; 2008; 2009; and up to the 12th of February 2010. The statement also sets out the number of claims pending at the 12th February 2010 and at the end of 2007, 2008 and 2009. Statistics are not available on the total number of individuals who applied for and were refused a rent or mortgage interest supplement payment.
|
Year |
Claims Registered |
Claims Awarded |
Claims Pending |
|
2007 |
43,832 |
41,197 |
429 |
|
2008 |
67,136 |
62,122 |
1,125 |
|
2009 |
97,523 |
87,802 |
1,674 |
|
2010* |
9,983 |
8,788 |
1,818 |
*To 12th February 2010.
Notes
Claims registered include:
claims not pursued by the applicant and
re-application where a rent supplement recipient moves to new accommodation.
Claim details are recorded electronically where it is established that rent supplement is payable. Where an appeal has been lodged, claim details are also recorded electronically.
Given the pressure on the community welfare service, claim details are not always recorded on the system where no entitlement has been established to rent supplement.
The difference between claims registered and claims awarded is not necessarily a refusal rate, for the reasons outlined above.
In these circumstances, fully reliable statistics are not available on the total number of people who applied for and were refused rent supplement.
Claims pending are claims pending at the end of year in question and at 12 th February 2010 in the case of the 2010 year.
|
Year |
Claims Registered |
Claims Awarded |
Claims Pending |
|
2007 |
3,694 |
2,985 |
119 |
|
2008 |
8,827 |
7,080 |
368 |
|
2009 |
18,796 |
13,724 |
734 |
|
2010* |
1,898 |
1,339 |
708 |
* To 12th February 2010.
Notes
Claims registered include claims not pursued by the applicant.
Claim details are recorded electronically where it is established that rent supplement is payable. Where an appeal has been lodged, claim details are recorded electronically.
Given the pressure on the community welfare service, claim details are not always recorded on the system where no entitlement has been established to mortgage interest supplement.
The difference between claims registered and claims awarded is not necessarily a refusal rate, for the reasons outlined above.
In these circumstances, fully reliable statistics are not available on the total number of people who applied for and were refused mortgage interest supplement.
Claims pending are claims pending at the end of year in question and at 12 th February 2010 in the case of the 2010 year.
