Carer's Allowance Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2020

Thursday, 5 March 2020

Ceisteanna (1134)

Niamh Smyth

Ceist:

1134. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the waiting times for the processing of the applications for carer's allowance and carer's benefit; the number of applications waiting by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2878/20]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Regina Doherty)

Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.

Carer's benefit (CARB) is a PRSI based payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care. 

My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the different qualification criteria.  Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness-related schemes, can take longer to process.  Similarly, means-tested payments also require more detailed investigation and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision-making process.  Delays can also arise if information is required from social security organisations in other jurisdictions and where additional information has been requested from the applicant but remains outstanding. 

Claim processing is kept under active review. The target for the CA scheme is to process 70% of claims in 12 weeks. The average processing time for CA at the end of February was 10 weeks and 73% of claims were processed within 12 weeks. The average time taken to award a CARB claim in the same period was 9 weeks.

I have attached a breakdown of the number of applications in process by county in tabular form.

Table: Carers Allowance / Benefit claims awaiting decision 31 October 2019 vs 29 February 2020

-		Carers Allowance			Carer's Benefit
-	31 October 2019	29 February 2020		31 October 2019	29 February 2020
Carlow	67	41	Carlow	4	14
Cavan	100	49	Cavan	12	13
Clare	95	36	Clare	13	20
Cork	441	208	Cork	79	85
Donegal	202	102	Donegal	32	28
Dublin	986	471	Dublin	166	131
Galway	209	147	Galway	35	47
Kildare	163	86	Kildare	28	37
Kilkenny	75	35	Kilkenny	12	11
Kerry	147	86	Kerry	29	33
Laois	84	47	Laois	9	10
Leitrim	34	18	Leitrim	3	5
Limerick	219	112	Limerick	29	28
Longford	51	30	Longford	2	7
Louth	138	70	Louth	25	25
Mayo	137	65	Mayo	18	20
Meath	127	67	Meath	29	30
Monaghan	49	25	Monaghan	6	15
Offaly	111	51	Offaly	14	15
Roscommon	73	49	Roscommon	16	15
Sligo	65	28	Sligo	9	15
Tipperary	204	107	Tipperary	15	20
Unknown	91	0	Unknown	0	0
Waterford	115	73	Waterford	11	14
Westmeath	94	54	Westmeath	12	11
Wexford	154	101	Wexford	19	13
Wicklow	122	52	Wicklow	13	12
Outside the state	4	1	Outside the state	6	7
Total	4266	2211	Total	646	681

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.