Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
540. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection if the chief appeals officer of the social welfare appeals office has also been given responsibility for the decisions advisory body of the Department itself; the reason for this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39038/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe role of the Department's Decisions Advisory Office (DAO) is to support line sections in seeking to ensure that decisions made on social welfare claims are consistent and of good quality. The DAO provides advice to scheme areas in complex cases and detailed guidelines on decision-making and relevant legislative provisions across the organisation.
At the end of 2020 the Department moved the Decisions Advisory Office to report to the Chief Appeals Officer to further strengthen the learnings from Appeals Officers decisions into the Department’s decision-making process. This change was recognised in the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the Management of Social Welfare Appeals published in September 2021.
The new reporting structure strengthens the process by which both the Department and the Appeals Office provide feedback to one another in order to continuously improve the decision making, review and appeal processes. In this regard the DAO will continue to liaise with the Appeals Office through regular meetings to ensure all learnings are fed back into the Department’s decision process and guidelines.
