Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Another point which must be taken into account is that as most of the 1,200 customers whose appeals are awaiting clearance are already in payment on other schemes, the arrears due will issue once overlaps with these other scheme payments are taken into account. We were obliged to update technology which was very behind the times. I pay tribute to the staff of our Longford office and those across the Department who deal with illness-related and family income supplement schemes because they have worked fantastically well in the context of clearing backlogs and putting the new technology to which I refer in place. When the Department puts in place new technology, it must ensure that the two systems run side by side. Inevitably, therefore, delays occur when we are putting in place new platforms. This is because we must try to ensure that we get everything absolutely right before new systems go live. I thank the Deputy for his comments, which I will pass on to the staff.

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