Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I do not know if the form is sent out. I will check that for Deputy Stanton. If an entitlement is stopped or reduced, the policy is that the claimant is informed of his or her right of appeal. The Deputy may have a particular case in mind. If a person voluntarily gave up his or her right to a particular allowance, he or she may not be notified of the right of appeal, as this would not seem to be appropriate. If an allowance was stopped by virtue of a decision of the Department then a claimant would be entitled to an appeal.

Last year the Department carried out 215,000 reviews. We deal with more than 900,000 families on a weekly basis. There is always enormous pressure on the Department and its officials try to meet their obligations and targets as efficiently as they can.

See this speech in context