Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 June 2022
1116. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection the current waiting time for the processing of applications for and the awarding of a disability allowance by county in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29711/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraDisability Allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical examination, a means test and Habitual Residency conditions.
My Department is committed to making decisions on entitlement as quickly as possible.
In general, social welfare schemes with a number of complex qualifying conditions can take longer to process. Before a decision can be made on entitlement to disability allowance (DA), evidence must be provided in respect of the person’s medical condition, the extent to which it restricts them from taking up employment, their means and their habitual residency.
The claim processing target for DA is to process 75% of claims within 10 weeks. Currently 97% of claims are completed within this timeframe. The average weeks to award currently stands at 6 weeks.
The requested data on the processing times for DA applications broken down by county is not collated by the Department.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
