Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2446. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 907 of 10 July 2018, the steps she is taking to ensure that there are adequate staff in her Department to deal with applications for carer's benefit in a timely fashion in order that applicants are not left for weeks with no payment due to processing times of between nine and 11 weeks. [32720/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra2556. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to increase staffing resources to reduce the delays in having applications such as carer's allowance processed and finalised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34635/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 2446 and 2556 together.
Like all Government departments and agencies, my Department is required to operate within a staff ceiling figure and a commensurate administrative staffing budget, which for this Department has involved reductions in staff.
The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, business priorities and the ongoing need to respond to new increasing demands in a wide range of services. This is to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department. My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
At the end of June 2018, the average waiting time for new carer's allowance (CA) applications was 16 weeks with 5,507 CA applications awaiting decision. The volume of CA applications on hands are also a consequence of a continued increased intake of claims with the number of applications for CA in 2017 26% higher than in 2015.
Before a decision can be made on entitlement to carer’s allowance, evidence must be provided in respect of the care recipient’s care requirement, the level of care the carer provides and the carer’s means. In general, social welfare schemes with a number of complex qualifying conditions can take longer to process. This is compounded if the documentary evidence provided at initial application stage is incomplete or insufficient; this is often the case with carer’s allowance applications. A redesigned application form was published last week; this new form will allow carers to provide more information on the type and level of care they provide, with an aim to providing Deciding Officers with the information they need to expedite decisions on entitlement.
My Department is constantly reviewing the staffing needs and the processes involved in Carer’s Allowance, to improve the service available to customers availing of this scheme.
