Social Welfare Appeals Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 March 2019

Tuesday, 26 March 2019

Ceisteanna (1263)

John Brassil

Ceist:

1263. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of social welfare appeals that were lodged in 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019 by type of appeal per scheme; the percentage of appeals that were allowed for each scheme for each of the years in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13221/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

The following tables provide details of all appeals registered by scheme and the outcome of all appeals finalised for the years 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019.

Appeals which had a favourable outcome for the appellant consist of appeals which were either allowed in full or in part by an Appeals Officer or which were resolved by way of a revised decision in favour of the appellant by a Deciding Officer / Designated Person.

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 incorrect.  It is often the case that new evidence is provided with an appeal and that, as a result, the original decision may be revised by the Deciding Officer or Designated Person.  This was the case in 37.6% of such successful outcomes in 2017, 31.5% of such outcomes in 2018 and 30.3% of such outcomes to the end of February 2019.

Where the decision was not revised by the Department in light of the appeal contentions, further evidence is often provided by the appellant as the appeal process proceeds and in addition, the Appeals Officer may gain insights when they meet the appellant in person at oral hearing which may influence the outcome of the appeal.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Appeals Received 2017–2019

	2017	2018	2019 (to 28/2/2019)
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	370	347	62
State Pension (Contributory)	408	309	52
State Pension (Transition)	3	Nil	Nil
Widow’s, Widower’s Pension (Contributory)	45	38	1
Death Benefit	Nil	1	Nil
Bereavement Grant	1	1	Nil
Jobseeker's Allowance - Payments	1,676	1,570	254
Jobseeker’s Transitional	41	70	8
Jobseeker's Allowance - Means	1,504	1,380	202
One-Parent Family Payment	244	273	54
Widow / Widower’s Pension (Non-Contributory)	23	18	1
Deserted Wife's Allowance	1	1	Nil
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	1,302	859	144
Farm Assist	130	84	18
Pre-Retirement Allowance	2	Nil	Nil
Jobseeker's Benefit	545	610	109
Deserted Wife's Benefit	7	8	1
Maternity Benefit	84	40	4
Paternity Benefit	16	14	1
Adoptive Benefit	2	1	Nil
Treatment Benefits	1	2	Nil
Partial Capacity Benefit	38	75	26
Disability Allowance	5,077	5,200	1,040
Blind Pension	19	12	1
Carer's Allowance	3,200	2,902	639
Domiciliary Care Allowance	1,199	1,432	258
Carer’s Support Grant	164	126	23
Illness Benefit	443	581	199
Injury Benefit	51	44	7
Invalidity Pension	1,381	1,387	355
Disablement Benefit	347	330	73
Incapacity Supplement	7	7	Nil
Medical Care	2	2	Nil
Carer's Benefit	110	162	40
Child Benefit	473	485	105
Working Family Payment*	477	290	219
Back To Work Family Dividend	43	43	6
Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory)	16	8	2
Guardian's Payment (Contributory)	34	22	1
Widowed Parent Grant	6	1	1
Insurability Of Employment	132	86	6
Liable Relative	9	4	1
Recoverable Benefits & Assistance	25	29	1
TOTAL – ALL APPEALS	19,658	18,854	3,914

* Previously called Family Income Supplement

Outcome of Appeals by Category 2017

	Allowed By Appeals Officers	Partially Allowed By Appeals Officers	Revised DO/DP Decision	Disallowed By Appeals Officers	Withdrawn	Total
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	75 21.9%	34 9.9%	78 22.7%	128 37.3%	28 8.2%	343
State Pension (Contributory)	35 9.9%	12 3.4%	76 21.5%	218 61.6%	13 3.7%	354
State Pension (Transition)	1 33.3%	Nil	Nil	2 66.7%	Nil	3
Widow’s / Widower’s Pension (Contributory)	8 25.8%	Nil	7 22.6%	15 48.4%	1 3.2%	31
Death Benefit	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Bereavement Grant	1 100.0%	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	1
Jobseeker’s Allowance - Payments	349 22.2%	66 4.2%	309 19.6%	665 42.3%	184 11.7%	1,573
Jobseeker’s Transitional	10 27.0%	4 10.8%	10 27.0%	6 16.2%	7 18.9%	37
Jobseeker’s Allowance - Means	187 12.9%	82 5.6%	264 18.2%	708 48.7%	212 14.6%	1,453
One-Parent Family Payment	67 26.1%	19 7.4%	54 21.0%	67 26.1%	50 19.5%	257
Widow’s / Widower’s Pension (Non-Contributory)	7 30.4%	4 17.4%	3 13.0%	9 39.1%	Nil	23
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	304 22.5%	34 2.5%	229 17.0%	602 44.6%	180 13.3%	1,349
Farm Assist	22 15.5%	18 12.7%	28 19.7%	60 42.3%	14 9.9%	142
Pre-Retirement Allowance	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	Nil	1
Jobseeker’s Benefit	83 17.3%	21 4.4%	117 24.4%	206 43.0%	52 10.9%	479
Deserted Wife’s Benefit	2 40.0%	1 20.0%	Nil	2 40.0%	Nil	5
Maternity Benefit	10 14.1%	3 4.2%	8 11.3%	49 69.0%	1 1.4%	71
Paternity Benefit	1 12.5%	Nil	3 37.5%	3 37.5%	1 12.5%	8
Adoptive Benefit	Nil	Nil	Nil	2 100.0%	Nil	2
Treatment Benefits	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Partial Capacity Benefit	15 33.3%	1 2.2%	11 24.4%	14 31.1%	4 8.9%	45
Disability Allowance	2,975 60.3%	70 1.4%	563 11.4%	1,211 24.5%	115 2.3%	4,934
Blind Pension	1 6.7%	1 6.7%	3 20.0%	7 46.7%	3 20.0%	15
Carer’s Allowance	1,204 35.2%	161 4.7%	780 22.8%	1,199 35.1%	72 2.1%	3,416
Domiciliary Care Allowance	297 37.1%	10 1.2%	343 42.8%	135 16.9%	16 2.0%	801
Carer’s Support Grant	35 22.6%	2 1.3%	45 29.0%	72 46.5%	1 0.6%	155
Illness Benefit	118 23.0%	8 1.6%	140 27.2%	189 36.8%	59 11.5%	514
Injury Benefit	3 7.9%	Nil	2 5.3%	27 71.1%	6 15.8%	38
Invalidity Pension	365 27.1%	7 0.5%	691 51.3%	262 19.4%	23 1.7%	1,348
Disablement Benefit	86 34.4%	19 7.6%	30 12.0%	109 43.6%	6 2.4%	250
Incapacity Supplement	3 30.0%	1 10.0%	3 30.0%	3 30.0%	Nil	10
Medical Care	Nil	Nil	1 50.0%	1 50.0%	Nil	2
Carer’s Benefit	23 22.1%	2 1.9%	39 37.5%	37 35.6%	3 2.9%	104
Child Benefit	68 15.5%	23 5.3%	154 35.2%	178 40.6%	15 3.4%	438
Family Income Supplement	76 15.1%	15 3.0%	267 53.1%	130 25.8%	15 3.0%	503
Back To Work Family Dividend	7 17.1%	Nil	4 9.8%	25 61.0%	5 12.2%	41
Guardian’s Payment   (Non-Contributory)	5 33.3%	1 6.7%	2 13.3%	7 46.7%	Nil	15
Guardian’s Payment   (Contributory)	13 39.4%	2 6.1%	4 12.1%	14 42.4%	Nil	33
Widowed Parent Grant	Nil	Nil	Nil	2 100.0%	Nil	2
Insurability	34 24.5%	4 2.9%	11 7.9%	37 26.6%	53 38.1%	139
Liable Relatives	Nil	4 23.5%	Nil	11 64.7%	2 11.8%	17
Recoverable Benefits & Assistance	3 11.5%	Nil	3 11.5%	20 76.9%	Nil	26
TOTAL  APPEALS	6,493 34.2%	629 3.3%	4,283 22.6%	6,434 33.9%	1,141 6.0%	18,980

Outcome of Appeals by Category 2018

	Allowed By Appeals Officers	Partially Allowed By Appeals Officers	Revised DO/DP Decision	Disallowed By Appeals Officers	Withdrawn	Total
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	85 23.4%	29 8.0%	70 19.3%	144 39.7%	35 9.6%	363
State Pension (Contributory)	35 9.5%	9 2.5%	64 17.4%	244 66.5%	15 4.1%	367
Widow’s / Widower’s Pension (Contributory)	18 45.0%	Nil	2 5.0%	14 35.0%	6 15.0%	40
Death Benefit	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Bereavement Grant	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Jobseeker’s Allowance -   Payments	280 18.0%	99 6.4%	251 16.1%	785 50.4%	141 9.1%	1,556
Jobseeker’s Transitional	9 19.1%	5 10.6%	9 19.1%	18 38.3%	6 12.8%	47
Jobseeker’s Allowance - Means	150 10.4%	83 5.8%	194 13.5%	836 58.1%	176 12.2%	1,439
One-Parent Family Payment	47 20.4%	13 5.7%	46 20.0%	83 36.1%	41 17.8%	230
Widow’s/Widower’s Pension   (Non-Contributory)	4 23.5%	2 11.8%	Nil	10 58.8%	1 5.9%	17
Deserted Wife’s Allowance	1 100.0%	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	1
Supplementary Welfare   Allowance	258 24.6%	29 2.8%	179 17.1%	467 44.6%	114 10.9%	1,047
Farm Assist	14 11.7%	11  9.2%	18 15.0%	62 51.7%	15 12.5%	120
Pre-Retirement Allowance	1 50.0%	1 50.0%	Nil	Nil	Nil	2
Jobseeker’s Benefit	109 18.3%	33 5.5%	129 21.6%	270 45.3%	55 9.2%	596
Deserted Wife’s Benefit	3 50.0%	Nil	Nil	3 50.0%	Nil	6
Maternity Benefit	6 11.1%	Nil	13 24.1%	34 63.0%	1 1.9%	54
Paternity Benefit	1 6.3%	1      6.3%	Nil	14 87.5%	Nil	16
Treatment Benefits	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	2 100.0%	2
Partial Capacity Benefit	16 50.0%	Nil	2 6.3%	13 40.6%	1 3.1%	32
Disability Allowance	3,112 62.2%	99 2.0%	462 9.2%	1,256 25.1%	77 1.5%	5,006
Blind Pension	2 14.3%	2 14.3%	3 21.4%	6 42.9%	1 7.1%	14
Carer’s Allowance	1,047 38.6%	144 5.3%	440 16.2%	989 36.5%	90 3.3%	2,710
Domiciliary Care Allowance	686 43.6%	13 0.8%	590 37.5%	258 16.4%	25 1.6%	1,572
Carer’s Support Grant	28 20.0%	5 3.6%	35 25.0%	68 48.6%	4 2.9%	140
Illness Benefit	111 22.4%	11 2.2%	164 33.1%	182 36.8%	27 5.5%	495
Injury Benefit	10 21.3%	Nil	6 12.8%	29 61.7%	2 4.3%	47
Invalidity Pension	458 41.9%	8 0.7%	322 29.4%	273 25.0%	33 3.0%	1,094
Disablement Benefit	116 35.3%	18 5.5%	32 9.7%	158 48.0%	5 1.5%	329
Incapacity Supplement	4 80.0%	Nil	Nil	1 20.0%	Nil	5
Medical Care	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Carer’s Benefit	32 23.4%	4 2.9%	52 38.0%	46 33.6%	3 2.2%	137
Child Benefit	62 14.6%	18 4.2%	146 34.3%	179 42.0%	21 4.9%	426
Working Family Payment*	59 15.3%	18 4.7%	173 44.8%	116 30.1%	20 5.2%	386
Back To Work Family Dividend	4 8.5%	Nil	12 25.5%	26 55.3%	5 10.6%	47
Guardian’s Payment   (Non-Contributory)	1 11.1%	1 11.1%	2 22.2%	5 55.6%	Nil	9
Guardian’s Payment (Contributory)	7 29.2%	1 4.2%	2 8.3%	14 58.3%	Nil	24
Widowed Parent Grant	Nil	Nil	1 20.0%	4 80.0%	Nil	5
Insurability	25 26.3%	3 3.2%	3 3.2%	51 53.7%	13 13.7%	95
Liable Relatives	Nil	Nil	1 20.0%	2 40.0%	2 40.0%	5
Recoverable Benefits &   Assistance	1 4.3%	2 8.7%	2 8.7%	18 78.3%	Nil	23
TOTAL  APPEALS	6,802 36.8%	662 3.6%	3,425 18.5%	6,681 36.1%	937 5.1%	18,507

* Previously known as Family Income Supplement

Outcome of Appeals by Category 2019 (to 28 February 2019)

	Allowed By Appeals Officers	Partially Allowed By Appeals Officers	Revised DO/DP Decision	Disallowed By Appeals Officers	Withdrawn	Total
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	18 27.3%	5 7.6%	10 15.2%	27 40.9%	6 9.1%	66
State Pension (Contributory)	9 14.1%	5 7.8%	15 23.4%	32 50.0%	3 4.7%	64
Widows / Widowers’ Pension (Contributory)	1 16.7%	Nil	1 16.7%	4 66.7%	Nil	6
Bereavement Grant	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Jobseeker’s Allowance -   Payments	55 18.0%	16 5.2%	33 10.8%	185 60.5%	17 5.6%	306
Jobseeker’s Transitional	3 14.3%	1 4.8%	1 4.8%	15 71.4%	1 4.8%	21
Jobseeker’s Allowance - Means	32 12.5%	8 3.1%	15 5.8%	174 67.7%	28 10.9%	257
One-Parent Family Payment	14 28.6%	3 6.1%	4 8.2%	25 51.0%	3 6.1%	49
Widows / Widowers’ Pension (Non-Contributory)	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Deserted Wife’s Allowance	1 100.0%	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	1
Supplementary Welfare   Allowance	26 20.5%	5 3.9%	11 8.7%	77 60.6%	8 6.3%	127
Farm Assist	3 21.4%	4 28.6%	2 14.3%	5 35.7%	Nil	14
Jobseeker’s Benefit	18 21.7%	4 4.8%	11 13.3%	45 54.2%	5 6.0%	83
Deserted Wife’s Benefit	2 100.0%	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	2
Maternity Benefit	3 27.3%	Nil	1 9.1%	7 63.6%	Nil	11
Paternity Benefit	Nil	Nil	Nil	2 100.0%	Nil	2
Partial Capacity Benefit	3 33.3%	Nil	Nil	4 44.4%	2 22.2%	9
Disability Allowance	673 58.7%	16 1.4%	101 8.8%	337 29.4%	19 1.7%	1,146
Blind Pension	Nil	Nil	1 33.3%	2 66.7%	Nil	3
Carer’s Allowance	125 28.2%	30 6.8%	79 17.8%	183 41.3%	26 5.9%	443
Domiciliary Care Allowance	146 48.5%	2 0.7%	89 29.6%	59 19.6%	5 1.7%	301
Carer’s Support Grant	3 13.6%	3 13.6%	1 4.5%	14 63.6%	1 4.5%	22
Illness Benefit	19 13.0%	2 1.4%	89 61.0%	33 22.6%	3 2.1%	146
Injury Benefit	1 10.0%	Nil	4 40.0%	5 50.0%	Nil	10
Invalidity Pension	102 41.3%	6 2.4%	83 33.6%	51 20.6%	5 2.0%	247
Disablement Benefit	21 36.2%	5 8.6%	3 5.2%	29 50.0%	Nil	58
Incapacity Supplement	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Carer’s Benefit	13 40.6%	Nil	6 18.8%	9 28.1%	4 12.5%	32
Child Benefit	16 15.1%	4 3.8%	23 21.7%	59 55.7%	4 3.8%	106
Working Family Payment*	8 10.7%	3 4.0%	43 57.3%	19 25.3%	2 2.7%	75
Back To Work Family Dividend	1 14.3%	Nil	Nil	5 71.4%	1 14.3%	7
Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory)	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 100.0%	Nil	1
Guardian’s Payment   (Contributory)	Nil	Nil	1 25.0%	2 50.0%	1 25.0%	4
Insurability	6 27.3%	Nil	1 4.5%	11 50.0%	4 18.2%	22
Liable Relatives	Nil	Nil	Nil	1 50.0%	1 50.0%	2
Recoverable Benefits &   Assistance	Nil	1 10.0%	Nil	9 90.0%	Nil	10
TOTAL APPEALS	1,322 36.2%	123 3.4%	628 17.2%	1,434 39.2%	149 4.1%	3,656

* Previously known as Family Income Supplement