Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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89. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection whether his Department will conduct a review of the delays relating to the awarding of disability and carer’s allowance, particularly in light of delays of up to five months that have occurred in County Laois; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33295/25]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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My question relates to the delays around reviews of decisions relating to disability and carer's allowance. Currently, people are waiting a long time. This matter needs to be addressed. I hope the Department is going to take action on it.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is committed to providing quality service to all, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made in a timely manner. We absolutely understand the pressures people face, and we ensure that claims are processed quickly and efficiently.

There are almost 170,000 people in receipt of disability allowance, DA, and more than 100,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance. The number of people in receipt of DA has increased by almost 50%. The number of people in receipt of carers allowance has increased by 67% over the past ten years. The processing times for individual claims may vary in accordance with the relative complexity of each application, particularly in terms of the main qualifying criteria, each individual's circumstances and the information that is provided in support of the claim.

When determining suitability for disability allowance, evidence needs to be examined in respect of the medical condition involved, the extent to which it restricts a person from taking up employment, their means and habitual residency. Similarly, when examining suitability for carer's allowance, caring needs are also examined. To assist the Department to make timely and fair decisions, we need to ensure we have completed forms and that supporting documentation is attached. Claims with incomplete information take longer to process.

In recent years, my Department has introduced a wide range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims using modern technology. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised. I am pleased to inform Deputy Stanley that we are currently meeting and exceeding our processing target for the disability allowance scheme, which aims to award 75% of applications within ten weeks. For carer's allowance, we aim to award 80% of applications within ten weeks. The average processing time for both schemes is six weeks. I will certainly engage with the Deputy with regard to any specific case that falls outside of those periods. We are continuously trying to reduce those processing times.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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The reason I raise this is because people find themselves out of work through no fault of their own because of a disability or have to give up work to care for a loved one and may have to put in a claim for carer's allowance. These are genuine cases. I understand that it is complex. I understand that there are a number of different aspects in terms of judging whether people are eligible or not. The Oireachtas helpline is of assistance, but it is not a silver bullet. The experience we have had is that some applications take four and five months to process, which can cause serious problems. Even in straightforward cases, there may be a missing document that is then supplied. If there is an appeal, it can take up to 12 months. That is our experience.

The Minister asked if I have an individual case. I want to go back and check where those cases are at. If there is a particular case, I will bring it to his attention. The Minister read out a reply prepared by the Department. I am not saying that the officials are giving him false information, but the experience we have been having does not match what he read out.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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If they could be done within a six-week period, that would certainly be very good. I welcome the fact that there is a target in that regard. In the absence of targets, nothing is achieved. Things move when there are targets. The Minister is correct about people supplying more information. Often, those who make claims are not sure what is being sought as a result of the language the Department uses. It has been simplified in recent years, and that is welcome. It is important that we try to achieve the target.

As already stated, people find themselves out of work through no fault of their own because of a disability or they have to give up their jobs. The Minister and I often come across cases in our constituency of people having to give up work to care for loved ones. It is really important that we try to support people financially. We must remember that while they are waiting, they have nowhere else to go. They can go to the community welfare officer, maybe, but there are very strong rules in that regard. It can be difficult and can take time. It is really important that we try to iron out any difficulties with this. The delivery part of the appeals process needs to be looked at.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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In recent weeks, I took the time to try to visit all the Department's regional offices in which many of these claims are dealt with, including our head office in Dublin. I met all the staff, and they are doing absolutely fantastic work. We have nearly 7,000 members of staff across the Department of Social Protection, many of whom are managing these claims and turning them around as quickly as possible. Where there are information gaps, we try to address them as quickly as possible. We are investing significantly in technology to try to assist that as well. As the Deputy said, we have tried to change the language and make it more inclusive, but if there are places where that is not happening, we will address that. The Department and our staff are very committed to doing that.

As stated, we have appointed 20 extra appeals officers. They come with experience of managing and processing claims. I visited the social welfare appeals office last week to meet these officers and see their work at first hand. They are all very focused and are working hard to reduce any backlogs.

The domiciliary care allowance is a good example of where a focused effort has reduced the backlog by almost half in just over a month.