Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for his feedback. We discussed this matter in the context of preparing a reply to his question. We are putting a huge number of resources into dealing with appeals. We have 20 extra staff who have been assigned to the appeals unit. They have been trained up and are working. The number of domiciliary care appeals decreased from approximately 1,200 in the middle of May to just over 600 by the middle of this month. The majority of those 600 cases relate to appeals made in April, May and this month.

I will be focusing the extra resources in the appeals unit on carers in order to ensure that any backlogs are addressed. I do not have a figure at the moment. However, no claim should take up to a year to assess. If there are delays of that nature, the Department and I want to hear about them. We have set a time of six weeks with regard to carers and disability in the context of the turnaround of applications. It is important that we get the fullest possible information from people in support of their claims. The more information we have, the quicker we will make decisions.

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