Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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88. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current number of appeal officers working in the appeals office; the number for the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8583/25]

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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How many appeals officers are working in the social welfare appeals office and how many have been working there over the past three years, and will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The social welfare appeals office is responsible for considering and determining appeals of first-instance decisions of the Department's deciding officers in relation to people's social welfare entitlements. The appeals service is designed to provide free-of-cost access to a second opinion by an officer at a senior grade within the Department. Prior to submitting an appeal to the appeals office, applicants also have the option of seeking a review of the decision by the relevant section in the Department. Those appointed as appeals officers are required to be independent in their decision-making functions.

The current number of appeals officers working in the appeals office is 65, four of whom are work-sharing, and three deputy chief appeals officers. The number of appeals officers working in the appeals office in 2024 was 44, four of whom were work-sharing. There were also two deputy chief appeals officers. The number of appeals officers working in the appeals office in 2023 was 44, with five work-sharing and two deputy chief appeals officers. The number of appeals officers working in the appeals office in 2022 was 43, with three work-sharing and two deputy chief appeals officers. The increase in the number of serving appeals officers during 2024 reflects the measures the chief appeals officer has put in place to deal with the increased volumes of appeals to be processed. Twenty additional staff were assigned and attended training in December and January. They have now been appointed as appeals officers and are making decisions.

The implementation of a new IT system last year, which includes an online option for submitting appeals, makes it easier for customers to lodge appeals. New appeals regulations have been signed to come into effect from April this year which provide for simpler processes and specified response times. These should help to further reduce processing times.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I thank the Minister. I welcome that there are 20 additional appeals officers but, unfortunately, as far as I am concerned, appeals times are still growing. I am dealing with a large number of carer's appeals that have been in train for 12 or 14 months and invalidity pension appeals that have been live for more than six months. The problem is that it is very difficult to explain to a person who is under stress and who needs a payment that he or she will have to go through this system. We get letters stating that the relevant papers are with the appeals office in Longford. I would love if someone could explain why officials have to write such letters. Surely, as the Minister mentioned, all of this should be done online. The review should come very quickly from Longford and be with the office in D'Olier Street in Dublin. It is an unnecessary step that the appeals office has to look for the information first. That takes a number of months, and then more months pass before the appeal goes through. Will the Minister outline the plans for streamlining appeals that he hopes to put in place?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The backlogs are a matter of concern to me. That is why there has, as stated, been a lot of investment in additional appeals officers. A new IT system went live in November 2023. This facilitates an online capability to provide a more efficient and streamlined service for people who are making appeals. At end of 2024, a new update provided functionality on mywelfare.ie for people to make appeals. This new feature supports the end-to-end electronic processing of appeals and addresses some of the issues raised by the Deputy. It has reduced the administrative burden of validating and registering appeals. In addition to the appointment of new appeals officers at the end of 2024, this will begin to make a very big difference in the context of waiting times.

The new appeals regulations have been signed. They will also simplify the process and give more specified response times. The chief appeals officer has assured me that she is monitoring processing times and that they are making every effort to process appeals. However, the drive for the kind of efficiency that the Deputy and I agree on has to be balanced in order to ensure that decisions are consistent and of a high quality. We also endeavour to acknowledge that many people availing of the service do not have electronic capabilities, so we still rely on a lot of old-style communication to strike a balance to allow individuals to access the service in a manner that suits their specific circumstances.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I welcome the independence of the appeals office. It is a great system whereby we get a second opinion, and it is something I have used during my time as a public representative. I have always found the appeals officers to be very helpful.

With regard to the new appeals procedures, does the Minister have any indication of what the timelines for appeals will be or what he is working towards? That somebody is waiting for an appeal in respect of carer's allowance for over a year is simply not good enough in this modern age. I welcome the fact that there are 20 additional appeals officers, but what can we expect from the new appeals procedures? Something we discussed at the social protection committee in the previous Dáil - this was one of the biggest issues - was the length of time the process takes.

Are there are plans to continue to hold oral hearings as part of the appeals procedure? I have used this in the past as well. It is a very effective mechanism and allows people go and meet the appeals officers, but there seems to have been a lack of oral hearings in recent times. Was this down to a shortfall in the number of appeals officers?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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For context, the average time taken to process an appeal in 2024 was 23.5 weeks. That jumped from 16 weeks in 2023. The average processing time for an appeal dealt with summarily in 2024 was 24.5 weeks, which, again, was an increase on 2023. As of 31 January last, the current processing times for social welfare appeals is 19.4 weeks. We are beginning to make progress. I will be very focused on reducing that to the shortest period possible. It has to capture the information, give people a chance to engage in the process and ensure consistency and fairness across the service.

The new IT system has given us much more online capability. The new online channel is improving people's experience and facilitating the new option we introduced via mywelfare.ie.

I will revert to the Deputy on the issue of oral appeals. I very much agree about the importance of oral appeals, and I will revert to the Deputy with figures relating to such appeals.