Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Burton, to the Chamber. This is an important issue in her constituency. Every Deputy in the House is affected by it. I know the Minister has a difficult job. Her Department has borne the brunt of the need to deal with many of the effects of the recession. There has been a major increase in the number of people applying for assistance. The Minister has to work within the current budgetary constraints . Her Department is having to deal with the integration of community welfare officers and staff from FÁS. The specific issue I am raising is the average time one has to wait for a claim for carer's allowance to be processed. It was 17 weeks, or over four months, in September 2011. One has to wait longer in the event of an appeal. These delays are causing a real difficulty on the ground for the most vulnerable people. Carers deliver an invaluable service to the community. The level of care and assistance they provide would cost the State much more if our hospitals and community services had to step into the breach. Carers provide their services to a range of people, including older people, those with severe disabilities, people who unfortunately have terminal illnesses and children with special needs. In September 2011, almost 10,000 applicants for carer's allowance were waiting for decisions to be made. I can understand that delays are being caused by the volume of applications. I ask the Minister to do everything she can to hasten the process of ensuring those who qualify for carer's allowance receive payments as quickly as possible.

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