Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Some of the appeals are self-generated or Department-generated. The domiciliary care allowance reviews and reviews of people on invalidity payments would have produced a very large number of appeals when they were turned down. They are not all strictly new claimants. Some applicants who have experienced very long delays and been turned down have sent exactly the same medical information on appeal and been successful. I have helped them compile the information. I do not disagree with the Minister and I wonder why it has taken so long and why the application form has not been upgraded. I do not know if the Minister consults with the medical profession about what is required of them. It comes back as a problem, but it is not a problem of the individual claimants. This would be a very cost-efficient way of dealing with the issue rather than wasting huge amounts of administrative time when people are successful on appeal. Most importantly, it causes incredible stress for people who are obliged to wait ridiculous lengths of time for something they eventually get and it does not save the State a penny but costs money in administrative time.

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