Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, the appeals office is independent of the Minister. The chief appeals officer has the power under section 318 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 to revise a decision where it appears to him or her that the original appeal decision was incorrect. Given the decision of the Supreme Court in respect of the Karshan judgment, the chief appeals officer has now decided the appropriate course of action in this case is to carry out a section 318 review. I cannot tell the Deputy what the outcome of that review will be because that is a matter for the appeals office.

The appeals office is independent and everyone has the right to use it. If a person feels a decision is incorrect, he or she has every right to submit additional information and ask for it to be looked again. That seems to be what is happening in this case. While some appeals take longer than others, the appeals office is working to try to reduce waiting times.

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