Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

There has been a significant increase in the number of appeals received by the social welfare appeals office in recent years, largely as a result of increased unemployment during the economic downturn. The number of appeals received by the office in 2009 increased by 46% compared to 2008, which, in turn, was 27% greater than the numbers received in 2007. In response, my Department assigned three additional permanent appeals officers in January 2009.

The Department has also pursued other options to deal with the increasing inflow of appeals including operational and process changes. These have included additional staff who have been assigned to the administration area of the office; more emphasis is now being placed on dealing with appeals on a summary basis so as to increase productivity; a project to improve the business processes in the office was undertaken which has resulted in a number of improvements being implemented; and significant enhancements have been made to the office's IT and phone systems.

The social welfare appeals system is quasi-judicial in nature and the determinations made by appeals officers are governed by relevant social welfare legislation and by case law. It takes considerable time for newly appointed officers to become fully proficient in the full range of the Department's schemes and legislation. Accordingly, as an exceptional measure, it was decided to re-employ, on a temporary contract basis, a number of retired officers. Eight retired appeals officers, working on a part-time basis, have been employed in my Department since June 2010. It was expected that the provision of experienced staff resources would yield an immediate dividend in terms of making inroads into the number of appeals on hand. This has proven to be the case with 3,000 cases having being finalised by them in the period June to the end of September. It is expected that a further 3,000 cases will be finalised before the end of the year. It is intended that the retired officers will be retained until the end of 2011 if the number of appeals on hands warrants this.

The Department is reviewing the situation on an ongoing basis and will seek to ensure that adequate resources are provided to the appeals office, having regard to the current moratorium on recruitment and promotions.

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