Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 November 2012
404. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the backlog for carer's allowance payments; the number of outstanding applications; the average length of time each new claim takes to process from initial application to payment; the number of staff allocated to deal with new claims; the steps she take to reduce the backlog; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50114/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe number of outstanding applications as of 2 November 2012 is 9,411. It is taking on average 25 weeks at present to process applications. It should be noted that this is an average, with some claims being processed significantly quicker and other claims taking longer. Including a number of additional temporary staff allocated to assist with backlog elimination, there are currently 32 staff plus supervisors engaged in the processing of new carer’s allowance claims.
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.
Following the completion of the modernisation project, an in-depth business process improvement (BPI) project was completed for the carer’s allowance scheme. This project focused on optimising output and customer service and the reduction of backlogs. 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 will be closely monitored and managed to ensure it achieves its objectives. A noted increase in the number of new claims processed was achieved in September and October, where claims processed substantially exceeded claim intake, and this increase continues into November. However, it will take a number of months before the backlog is reduced to an acceptable level. The allocation of available resources to this task continues to be monitored in order that the backlog is eliminated in the shortest possible timeframe.
