Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 22, 26 and 37 together.

Figures on the breakdown of decisions in respect of the 28,166 appeals disposed of by the social welfare appeals office during 2010 are enclosed in the following table. I am informed by the social welfare appeals office that the number of appeals waiting to be processed on 17 July was 19,525. There are limited statistics available on the number of individuals in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance for greater than three months pending an appeal for a social welfare payment. However, Department records show that there are currently 1,257 such individuals awaiting the outcome of their appeal on either a jobseeker's allowance, a jobseeker's benefit or an illness benefit claim.

In an effort to reduce the backlog of appeals, I made nine additional appointments to the appeals office in recent weeks. These assignments will augment the three appointments made to the office in 2010, bringing the total number of appeals officers serving in the office to 29. In addition, since July 2010, eight retired appeals officers, equating to a further three full-time officers, have been assisting on a strictly part-time basis with the backlogs of appeals and it is intended that they will be employed until the end of the year.

I am assured by the chief appeals officer that she is keeping the methods of operation by which the social welfare appeals office conducts its business under constant review, and that the processes are continuously being enhanced to reduce the backlogs in the office and to reduce the overall processing times for dealing with appeals. In that regard, 3,000 cases registered prior to 31 December 2010 have been ring fenced and a team of ten of the most experienced appeals officers have been freed from all other work in the office and will concentrate on clearing this backlog. This project began on 1 July.

More emphasis is now being placed on dealing with appeals on a summary basis where possible to increase productivity. In some cases, if applications were made more clearly and the medical evidence more clearly laid out, that would certainly assist the process of making a decision in the first instance. As a result, the number of appeals dealt with by way of oral hearing was reduced from 42% for the first six months of 2010 to just over 30% for the same period in 2011.

I have been to the appeals office to visit the staff. They are under tremendous pressure and to give them their due, they are working flat out to deal with the backlog.

Appeals Disposed of During 2010

Appeals Determined by Appeals Officers

With the extra staff, who are all experienced social welfare staff, I am hopeful we will continue to make inroads into dealing with the backlog.

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