Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 7, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following:“Social Welfare Appeals

6. The Social Welfare Appeals Office shall ensure that all appeals are processed and responded to within 21 days of receipt of the application to appeal a decision.”.

At present, despite the good work of the Social Welfare Appeals Office, there is still an unacceptable delay affecting social welfare appeals. There is no set time for responding to appellants. When framing this amendment, I was mindful of the fact that it did not represent a final conclusion. I would love to be able to say that all social welfare appeals could be finalised by a set date but I am realistic enough to realise there are very complicated appeals that sometimes take quite a long time to deal with. Although it is very rare, this can be to the benefit of the appellant in that he or she may be afforded time to chase up contributions, especially those made abroad. In the main, there is no justification for delays of ten or 11 months in the processing of appeals, even in respect of summary decisions. I have commended the Department and the Minister on taking steps that have, to some degree, reduced the number on the waiting list for a period, only to realise on re-examining the matter that it seemed shoot up once again. At the very least, when files are transferred to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, the appellant should receive an indication that an inspector has been appointed and be given some indication of the waiting period. One finds that people contact not only the Social Welfare Appeals Office but also our offices to try to find out how long they will be waiting. I refer to appellants who are sometimes in dire straits or who are sometimes totally dependent on the supplementary welfare allowance, which is not always paid at the maximum rate.

Appeals related to medical matters take longest. There is no reason for them to take so long. A closer working relationship needs to be built up between the Social Welfare Appeals Office, the hospitals and HSE to allow for a quick release of files or for consultants to release the required documentation to facilitate appeals.

Consultants have a waiting list for the typing queue which applicants are waiting on. That causes a problem at the initial application stage and also at a later stage.

In some cases, I cannot figure out why there would be any reason for delays of 30 or 40 weeks. We all recognise there has been a huge jump in the number of people who are dependent on and applying for social welfare. In a reply the Minister said there was a jump from 17,500 in 2009 to 32,000 last year, and the same is probably the case this year. It shows the scale of the dependency in this State on the social welfare system.

If appeals were processed and expedited within a set time frame set in primary legislation and if waiting lists were dealt with in the same way the system would improve. If it is dealt with in the same manner the Minister indicated family income supplement was dealt with, we would be a long time waiting to address the social welfare list. More social welfare inspectors and additional appeals officers need to be appointed to ensure that, for once and for all, we bring the list under control and it does not increase thereafter.

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