Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I accept some progress has been made in reducing waiting times for appeals. However, the time taken in dealing with them still remains unacceptably long. What is astonishing is the number of appeals, some 50%, that are successful when they are eventually heard. One has to ask why they were disallowed in the first place. This appears to be a question of administrative resources. Last year there were 27 medical assessors, with nine leaving and three being replaced. This year there will be 21 medical assessors - four have left and four are to be replaced. The complement is five short. I would have thought people would be queuing up to get on this panel? If they are not, why is that the case?

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