The person concerned was refused disability allowance following an assessment by a Medical Assessor who expressed the opinion that he was medically unsuitable for the allowance. He was also disallowed on the grounds that his weekly means exceeded the statutory limit allowable for disability allowance purposes. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an appeal was registered on 29th February 2012 and in accordance with the statutory procedures the relevant department papers and the comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the matter raised in the appeal have been sought. In that context, an assessment by another Medical Assessor will be carried out.
The huge increase in the numbers of appeals to the office has also resulted in a large backlog in dealing with correspondence, which is dealt with in chronological order. While this is regretted, priority in the office is given to the registration and preparation of files for appeals, scheduling oral hearings and the issue of decisions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.