Social Welfare Appeals

Tuesday, 11 April 2017

Ceisteanna (401)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

401. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the applications for various social welfare payments which are most commonly refused on application and referred to appeal or oral hearing; the number of cases subsequently rejected or approved on appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18341/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Social Protection

The tables that follow provide the details which have been requested by the Deputy in respect of 2015, 2016 and to date in 2017.

The schemes with the highest number of appeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Office in 2015, 2016 and to end of March 2017 were - disability allowance (6,435 in 2015/4,912 in 2016/1,444 in 2017), carer’s allowance (3,188 in 2015/3,887 in 2016/1,003 in 2017), jobseeker’s allowance - means (2,174 in 2015/2,050 in 2016/440 in 2017), jobseeker’s allowance - payments (2,058 in 2015/2,031 in 2016/457 in 2017), supplementary welfare allowance (2,125 in 2015/1,970 in 2016/384 in 2017), invalidity pension (1,857 in 2015/1,362 in 2016/385 in 2017) and domiciliary care allowance (1,258 in 2015/1,198 in 2016/273 in 2017).

Details of appeal outcomes for the above schemes are set out in the tables below. Overall, 58.8% of the 25,406 appeals which were finalised in 2015 had a favourable outcome for the appellant, i.e. were either allowed in full or in part, or resolved by way of a revised decision by a Deciding Officer/Designated Person. 59.2% of the 23,220 appeals finalised in 2016 and 56.25% of the 5,000 appeals finalised to date in 2017 had a favourable outcome for the appellant.

Of the 18,913 appeals which were finalised by Appeals Officers in 2015, 6,886 (36.4%) were determined following an oral hearing. 4,444 (64.5%) of these had a favourable outcome for the appellant. Of the 16,990 appeals finalised by Appeals Officers in 2016, 6,527 (38.4%) were determined following an oral hearing. 4,251 (65.1%) of these had a favourable outcome for the appellant. Of the 3,641 appeals finalised by Appeals Officers to the end of March 2017, 1,526 (41.9%) were determined following an oral hearing. (61.5%) of these had a favourable outcome for the appellant.

There are a number of reasons why a decision which was refused at first instance might be successful on appeal and it is not necessarily the case that the first decision was wrong.

Where new evidence is provided with an appeal, the original decision may be revised by the Deciding Officer or Designated Person. This was the case in some 35% of favourable appeal outcomes in 2015 and some 37% of favourable appeal outcomes in 2016. Where the decision is not revised in the Department in light of the appeal contentions, further evidence is often provided by the appellant as the appeal process proceeds. In addition, the Appeals Officer may gain insights when they meet the appellant in person at oral hearing which may also influence the outcome of the appeal.

Social Welfare legislation provides that an Appeals Officer may determine an appeal without an oral hearing where s/he is of the opinion that it can be determined fairly on the basis of the documentary evidence provided. In general, where there is a conflict in the documentary evidence presented, an Appeals Officer will convene an oral hearing in order to explore the evidence and seek to resolve any conflict.

In addition, where an appellant requests an oral hearing, the request is generally granted unless the Appeals Officer is of the opinion that the appeal can be allowed on a summary basis, or where there is clearly nothing to be gained by granting an oral hearing. An example of this would be where the appeal question relates to PRSI contribution conditions or means and the underlying PRSI contribution figures or means are not disputed.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Appeal Receipts 2015 – 2017

-	2015	2016	2017 (to 31/3/2017)
Blind Person’s Pension	22	13	5
Carers Allowance	3,188	3,887	1,003
Carers Benefit	93	95	30
Child Benefit	552	595	164
Disability Allowance	6,435	4,912	1,444
Illness Benefit	1,204	819	109
Death Benefit	1	1	-
Partial Capacity Benefit	42	42	7
Domiciliary Care Allowance	1,258	1,198	273
Deserted Wives Benefit	19	7	1
Deserted Wives Allowance	1	-	-
Farm Assist	201	196	33
Bereavement Grant	6	3	-
Family Income Supplement	447	510	159
Invalidity Pension	1,857	1,362	385
Liable Relatives	26	23	1
Maternity Benefit	71	87	25
Paternity Benefit	-	1	2
One Parent Family Payment	368	313	79
State Pension (Contributory)	264	366	109
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	348	397	107
State Pension (Transition)	3	2	1
Occupational Injury Benefit	65	56	11
Disablement Pension	347	298	77
Occupational Injury-Medical Care	4	4	1
Incapacity Supplement	12	9	2
Guardian's Payment (Con)	49	38	10
Guardian's Payment (Non-Con)	18	17	5
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means)	2,174	2,050	440
Jobseeker's Allowance	2,058	2,031	457
BTW Family Dividend	64	52	11
Jobseeker's Transitional	34	43	12
Pre-Retirement Allowance	-	-	1
Recoverable Benefits & Assistance	26	24	9
Jobseeker's Benefit	735	637	151
Treatment Benefit	3	5	-
Carer’s Support Grant*	124	164	37
Insurability of Employment	156	151	60
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	2,125	1,970	384
Survivor's Pension (Con)	40	49	11
Survivor's Pension (Non-con)	25	26	6
Widows Parent Grant	10	8	-
All Appeals	24,475	22,461	5,622

* Previously called Respite Care Grant

Outcome of Disability Allowance Appeals 2015– 2017
		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	6,435	1,443	3,384	85	1,751	77
2016	4,912	815	2,830	88	1,367	75
2017 (to 31/3/2017)	1,444	128	457	23	293	8

Outcome of Carer’s Allowance Appeals 2015– 2017
		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	3,188	579	1,352	155	1,355	50
2016	3,887	815	1,375	145	1,237	52
2017 (to 31/3/2017)	1,003	212	366	35	317	12

Outcome of Jobseeker’s Allowance (Means) Appeals 2015– 2017
		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	2,174	299	284	108	1,336	229
2016	2,050	338	287	120	1,216	198
2017 (to 31/3/2017)	440	71	52	29	279	58

Outcome of Jobseeker’s Allowance (Payments) Appeals 2015– 2017
		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	2,058	260	536	116	972	175
2016	2,031	324	525	98	945	141
2017 (to 31/3/2017)	457	88	113	19	223	47

Outcome of Supplementary Welfare Allowance Appeals 2015– 2017
		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	2,125	373	634	77	1,069	177
2016	1.970	346	532	75	923	156
2017 (to 31/3/2017)	384	73	86	9	164	41

Outcome of Invalidity Pension Appeals 2015– 2017
		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	1,857	511	1,135	17	421	37
2016	1,362	642	682	10	302	18
2017 (to 31/3/2017)	385	175	104	2	78	4

Outcome of Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals 2015– 2017
		Favourable Decisions
	Appeal Receipts	Revised Deciding Officers Decisions	Appeals Allowed	Appeals Partly Allowed	Appeals Disallowed	Withdrawn
2015	1,258	313	571	40	226	8
2016	1,198	469	596	18	250	11
2017 (to 31/3/2017)	273	79	113	2	48	3

Tables ctg

Number and Outcome of Appeals Determined following Oral Hearings 2015
-	Allowed	Partially allowed	Disallowed	No. of Oral Hearings
Blind Person’s Pension	1	-	3	4
Carers Allowance	733	101	516	1,350
Carers Benefit	10	5	18	33
Child Benefit	29	12	37	78
Disability Allowance	1,497	44	550	2,091
Illness Benefit	109	6	88	203
Partial Capacity Benefit	3	-	2	5
Death Benefit	-	-	1	1
Domiciliary Care Allowance	242	7	82	331
Deserted Wives Allowance	1	-	-	1
Deserted Wives Benefit	5	4	2	11
Farm Assist	23	14	30	67
Bereavement Grant	1	-	1	2
Liable Relatives	-	-	1	1
Family Income Supplement	16	3	19	38
Invalidity Pension	451	8	147	606
Maternity Benefit	-	-	6	6
One Parent Family Payment	62	15	65	142
State Pension (Contributory)	18	2	19	39
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	34	17	47	98
State Pension (Transition)	0	1	1	2
Occupational Injury Benefit	8	-	9	17
Disablement Pension	77	10	56	143
Incapacity Supplement	5	-	-	5
Guardian's Payment (Con)	6	3	4	13
Guardian's Payment (Non-Con)	5	-	-	5
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means)	172	57	253	482
Jobseeker's Allowance	227	59	208	494
Jobseeker's Transitional	1	-	-	1
Recoverable Benefits & Assistance	1	-	-	1
Jobseeker’s Benefit	45	19	37	101
Carer’s Support Grant*	18	2	13	33
Insurability of Employment	17	-	34	51
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	207	24	187	418
Survivor's Pension (Con)	3	0	3	6
Survivor's Pension (Non-con)	3	1	2	6
Widows Parent Grant	-	-	1	1
All Appeals	4,030	414	2,442	6,886

* Previously called Respite Care Grant

Number and Outcome of Appeals Determined following Oral Hearings 2016
	Allowed	Partially allowed	Disallowed	No. of Oral Hearings
Blind Person’s Pension	3	-	2	5
Carers Allowance	844	85	550	1,479
Carers Benefit	8	2	5	15
Child Benefit	23	12	34	69
Disability Allowance	1,305	51	487	1,843
Illness Benefit	82	3	68	153
Partial Capacity Benefit	5	-	5	10
Domiciliary Care Allowance	263	7	109	379
Deserted Wives Benefit	4	1	3	8
Farm Assist	23	26	29	78
Liable Relatives	-	-	1	1
Family Income Supplement	32	5	20	57
Invalidity Pension	347	4	109	460
Maternity Benefit	9	1	4	14
One Parent Family Payment	49	15	50	114
State Pension (Contributory)	16	6	32	54
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	45	20	53	118
State Pension (Transition)	1	1	1	3
Occupational Injury Benefit	9	1	6	16
Disablement Pension	101	10	63	174
Incapacity Supplement	1	1	3	5
Guardian's Payment (Con)	9	1	5	15
Guardian's Payment (Non-Con)	8	1	2	11
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means)	136	56	182	374
Jobseeker's Allowance	225	59	221	505
Jobseeker's Transitional	3	1	8	12
Recoverable Benefits & Assistance	1	-	2	3
Jobseeker's Benefit	54	14	41	109
Carer’s Support Grant *	20	2	11	33
Insurability of Employment	17	2	28	47
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	178	25	133	336
Survivor's Pension (Con)	9	5	6	20
Survivor's Pension (Non-con)	3	1	2	6
Widows Parent Grant	-	-	1	1
All Appeals	3,833	418	2,276	6,527

* Previously called Respite Care Grant

Number and Outcome of Appeals Determined following Oral Hearings 2017 (to 31 March 2017)
-	Allowed	Partially allowed	Disallowed	No. of Oral Hearings
Blind Person’s Pension	-	1	-	1
Carers Allowance	251	28	164	443
Carers Benefit	5	1	8	14
Child Benefit	8	2	10	20
Disability Allowance	219	15	107	341
Illness Benefit	40	1	25	66
Partial Capacity Benefit	2	-	1	3
Domiciliary Care Allowance	52	2	19	73
Deserted Wives Benefit	1	-	-	1
Farm Assist	6	5	10	21
Liable Relatives	-	-	1	1
Family Income Supplement	5	1	6	12
Invalidity Pension	50	1	27	78
One Parent Family Payment	13	3	10	26
State Pension (Contributory)	4	1	10	15
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	20	3	12	35
Occupational Injury Benefit	-	-	3	3
Disablement Pension	11	3	11	25
Incapacity Supplement	1	1	-	2
Guardian's Payment (Con)	3	-	1	4
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means)	33	18	45	96
Jobseeker's Allowance	56	8	53	117
Jobseeker's Transitional	-	1	-	1
Jobseeker's Benefit	6	1	12	19
Carer’s Support Grant*	6	-	9	15
Insurability of Employment	4	-	7	11
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	37	6	33	76
Survivor's Pension (Con)	1	-	2	3
Survivor's Pension (Non-con)	2	-	2	4
All Appeals	836	102	588	1,526

* Previously called Respite Care Grant