Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This question follows on from the previous question. Staff in my constituency office have asked me to raise this issue with the Minister because they have noticed recently, particularly with respect to carer's allowance and disability allowance, that waiting times for processing applications have increased. From the date that all the requested information is provided, it can take anything from three to four months to process an application. The Minister stated that the average waiting time for processing an application for carer's allowance is three months. My staff who had noticed a decrease in the waiting times have recently noticed that they have increased again. Is there a reason for that? People need four or five to submit information, after which they must wait between 12 and 14 weeks for the application to go through.

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