Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 March 2013
319. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of full-time medical assessors who are or have been employed by her Department to oversee illness scheme applications and appeals currently and in each year for the past five years; the number of medical assessors who have been or are employed on a part-time basis; if there is scope to hire new assessors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12612/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently 25 Medical Assessors employed in my Department, including the Chief Medical Adviser and the Deputy Chief Medical Adviser. Of this number, 3 were appointed this week. All of the staff in question serve on a full-time basis.
A public competition was held to appoint additional Medical Assessors in 2012 and my Department is liaising with the Public Appointments Service with a view to appointing a further 5 Medical Assessors at the earliest opportunity.
The role of the Medical Assessor is essential in assessing and reviewing illness related claims. I am very pleased that the Department received sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to increase their number thereby enabling the Department to deliver a better service to our customers.
Details of the number of Medical Assessors serving in the Department in March in each of the past 5 years are shown in the table below:
|
Year |
No. of Medical Assessor Posts |
|
2008 |
19 |
|
2009 |
22 |
|
2010 |
24 |
|
2011 |
24 |
|
2012 |
23 |
