Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 4: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she is satisfied that the assessment procedure for social welfare benefits and entitlements is working effectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25549/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Social and Family Affairs, through the wide range of services it provides, touches everyone's life at some stage. Our overall goal is to provide people with the information, financial support and other services they require in a timely and customer-friendly way.

The Department administers 2 million applications for 50 different schemes each year. Last month alone, it cleared some 207,000 claims. We are committed to ensuring that claims for payment are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible, having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply. These conditions vary from scheme to scheme and may involve, among other criteria, the need to establish the person's social insurance record; verification of his or her medical incapacity to work; confirmation of his or her place of habitual residence; and, where appropriate, the assessment of means. Additional information may also have to be sought. These factors, along with a significant increase in the claim load of a particular scheme, can affect processing times.

There are specific performance targets set for each scheme and these are monitored closely and action is taken where appropriate. I appreciate there are delays in some areas and I have outlined to the House on another occasion the steps we are taking to improving processing times, for the jobseekers' payments in particular.

Investment in our staff and modern information communications technologies is central to improving the quality of the service we provide to the public. Our new website and text messaging service have made it easier for people to access information at a time that suits them. The Department's website recently won an e-government award for accessibility. We are also working to ensure a high quality service continues to be available by telephone, in our local offices, through the citizens information centres and by post.

There is no doubt the significant rise in applications for some schemes is presenting major challenges for the Department. I assure the Deputies that we are committed to meeting the needs of the increasing number of people who rely on our support, while also providing a high standard of service.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I will deal with the issue of processing times later in respect of my other questions. I tabled this question because of the high rate of appeals to the Department. I am concerned about the high rate of successful appeals because if the system operated effectively there should not be such a high rate. I will cite three examples from last year. More than half of all appeals for the carer's allowance were upheld in 2007 and 2008 but the people who appealed had to wait six months for the appeals to be granted, on top of their initial application time; 40% of appeals for jobseeker's allowance last year were upheld and the people had to wait five months; 54% of appeals for disability allowance were upheld and those people also had to wait six months. What is going wrong in the initial assessment of those claims? It is not a question of medical reports because they are not all health related. That would not apply in the jobseekers area. Where are the mistakes in the initial assessments in those three examples? There are many other examples. Approximately 60%, of the areas covered by the Department have a high rate of successful appeals. What is going wrong? The processing times in the first place are a problem and so are those for the appeals as half the people who are entitled to the payments must wait several months.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Each scheme is different and has different requirements. Where medical evidence is required it will take some time. To get the carer's allowance one must show that the person for whom one is caring is in need of full-time care which involves a medical certificate. It quite often happens that an application is made with insufficient information on means or household income and that can give rise to an appeal. The Deputy mentioned some instances where different information would be sought.

As a control measure it is probably just as well that not everyone gets everything on the first go. We try to ensure the processing times are quite quick. It is easy to focus on the jobseekers in the first instance and say that is where there are delays but given that the Department receives 2 million applications each year, some are very speedily dealt with, many within one or two weeks. The appeals and the processing times can be two separate things but there are problems in appeals too and going to oral hearings, etc.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I would not accept in any sense that this is a good control measure because more than half the people who appealed in those three instances were found to be entitled to the payment which means that there was no issue of fraud or of trying to pull the wool over the Department's eyes. These people were entitled to the payment and had to wait the initial application time, which could have been 19 weeks in Boyle, and then had to wait five months in the case of jobseeker's allowance.

The medical documents for the carer's and disability allowances are not a problem because most people would have proved on application that the person was entitled to the benefit. I would like some figures from the Minister on why these appeals are being granted. She may be able to supply them afterwards. I do not think insufficient information accounts for all those successful appeals. Anyone in the House could give the Minister examples of appeals they have lodged for people that have nothing to do with insufficient information. It is a substantial number and it is very unfair that these people are being asked to wait.

The Minister has not answered my question about the breakdown of the initial assessment because while there are different types of payments, the people in the Department who deal with carer's allowance deal exclusively with that payment, and likewise the jobseeker's and disability allowances. They are experts in their areas so it is not a question of being a different type of payment. They know how to deal with the applications and there must be a breakdown for such a sizeable success rate in appeals. This needs to be dealt with.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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That there is an appeals mechanism in place is very important.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I agree.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The ones the Deputy mentioned involved medical certification.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Jobseeker's allowance does not.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The disability, illness and carer's allowances do. The problem with the jobseeker's allowance is that the means testing can take time.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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A total of 40% of appeals are successful. That is the point of the question.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The point of an appeal is that it allows people the opportunity to give further information or medical evidence or go to oral hearing.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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To find the Department's mistakes.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A total of 59% of appeals last year went to oral hearing. People got the opportunity to come in and make their cases, whatever the information was. I accept that the appeals system works and I know the Deputy is asking why the application does not work in the first instance but there can be a wide range of reasons it does not work.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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That needs to be examined.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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We are examining some of the areas where there is a high success rate on appeals to find the cause.