Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2012
303. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline the average waiting times for carer's allowance applications to be processed; the measures that can be taken by her Department to reduce current waiting times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44262/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers. Currently the average time taken to award a carer’s allowance application is 28 weeks. I acknowledge that the time taken to process carer’s allowance claims at present is not satisfactory but I am satisfied that the Department is taking appropriate action to resolve the situation.
Carer’s allowance section has recently completed a major service delivery modernisation project to improve the efficiency with which it processes applications from clients for carer’s allowance. The project involved the development of IT functionality and associated business process re-organisation. Full deployment of the new system for Carer’s Allowance was completed in June 2012. The outcome of the review is the division of work into two streams. One concentrates on dealing with new claim intake and processes these without delay and the other on the backlog which is ring-fenced with a clear and targeted plan for its elimination. Implementation of the plan commenced on Monday 3 September and is closely monitored and managed to ensure it achieves its objectives. In September the number of claims decided substantially exceeded claim intake. However, it will take a number of months before the backlog is reduced to an acceptable level.
