Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I thank the Minister for the reply. My concern is that a reply to a parliamentary question from my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, stated that social welfare held 5,397 oral hearings in 2018 and the Minister has confirmed that the 2024 figure was down to 432. I am sure the Minister gets many requests for appeals. I know my office does. One of the mechanisms my office has used is the appeals process, in particular the oral hearing, because it gives the appellant the chance to meet somebody in person and face to face, to see the whites of their eyes and make sure every part of the evidence they can get out gets out. We seem to have gone back to a reliance on virtual interactions, which is a backward step. I ask the Minister to assure us oral hearings will continue and that where a request is made, even under those regulations, no obstacles to oral hearings are being put in place by the Department.

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