Michael Collins
Ceist:611. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will address a matter regarding the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53085/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 2 November 2021
Ceisteanna (611)
Freagraí scríofa
I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision on 18 March 2021.
Under social welfare legislation the decision of the Appeals Officer is generally final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by an Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts. I am advised that the person concerned subsequently submitted additional evidence and that the Appeals Officer agreed to review the appeal decision on foot of this additional evidence.
The Appeals Officer did not find any new facts or fresh evidence which warranted a revision of his earlier decision. However, I have been informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the letter which was sent to the person concerned to notify her of this outcome, while addressed to her, included no content referring to her and instead, erroneously contained personal data relating to another person. The Appeals Office wrote to the person concerned on 27 October 2021 to sincerely apologise for this error with assurances that her own personal data was not sent to anyone else. The person concerned was also advised that, in line with their procedures, the Appeals Office had notified the Department's Data Protection Unit of what had occurred and the Department had subsequently advised the Office of the Data Commissioner of the incident.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office takes its responsibilities in relation to data protection very seriously and every effort is made to ensure that appellants' data is held securely at all times. Staff of the office have been reminded of their responsibilities in ensuring that their appellants' data is kept secure and that errors of this nature do not occur in the future.
In its correspondence of 27 October 2021 to the person concerned the Appeals Office apologised unreservedly for the error, for any distress or upset it may have caused and for the considerable amount of time it had taken to respond to the issue. This correspondence also provided the person concerned with the outcome of the Appeals Officer's review of his original decision. The correspondence noted that it is open to the person concerned to reapply for the carer's allowance based on evidence she has provided which would apply subsequent to the date of the original application.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office also issued a letter of apology to the Deputy on 28 October 2021 for its error in relation to the correspondence to the person concerned and the delay in responding to the matter.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for 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.