Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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189. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when she expects an appeal of a domiciliary care allowance application to be adjudicated upon in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10655/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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An application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on 27th August 2013. The application was disallowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 1st October 2013 advising of the decision.

The person concerned has requested a review of this decision and supplied additional information on this child’s condition/care needs. She will be notified of the outcome of this review as soon as it is completed.

An appeal against the decision has also been submitted to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. If necessary, on completion of the review the application file will be passed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office for the consideration of an Appeals Officer.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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190. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the length of time it is currently taking for a domiciliary care allowance appeal to be decided by the Social Welfare Appeals Office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10656/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the current average time taken to decide domiciliary care allowance appeals decided by summary decision is 24.0 weeks and 28.4 weeks for those requiring an oral hearing.

Appeal processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation. They include all activities during this period including time spent awaiting any clarification from the appellant, time in the Department for comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant, and any further investigation, examination or assessment by the Department’s Inspectors and Medical Assessors that is deemed necessary. A considerable period of time is added to the process when an oral hearing is required because of the logistics involved in this process. While this process carries an inherent delay in terms of finalising an appeal, it also crystalises the flexibility and accessibility of the appeals system. By its nature and because it is a quasi-judicial function, the processing of appeals takes time and reflects the fact that, by definition, the appeal process cannot be a quick one.

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.