Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Does the Minister accept that greater use should be made of the review process as opposed to the excessively arduous appeals process? Many of those who apply for carer's allowance do not understand the documentation or the requirement to include details on the level of care they provide. Does the Minister agree that waiting times, especially for appeals, are unacceptably long across all schemes? I do not know if she is aware of today's missive from the Minister without Portfolio, Deputy Brendan Howlin, which indicates that the Department of Social Protection will be allocated an additional 22 staff by the end of the year. This figure does not take account of the transfer of community welfare officers from the Health Service Executive. Does the Minister agree that 22 additional staff will not be sufficient to address the delays in processing social welfare applications?

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