Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

To answer the Senators' questions, eight retirees are working an average of two days per week. This is roughly equivalent to three full-time equivalents. This will continue to the end of the year. It is a temporary arrangement which will be reviewed at that stage.

The Senator raised a very valid question as to their pay arrangements. They are paid on a per diem basis, based on the mid-point of the standard modified assistant principal scale. This is subject to tax, PRSI, income levy and pension levy and subject to the normal pension abatement arrangements. This means they cannot earn more in any tax year than they would have earned before retirement. There is no honey pot in this one.

There is a significant learning curve for appeals officers when assigned. They must become familiar with the entire social welfare code and also with other legislation which may impact on entitlements, such as employment law and also with administrative law, case law and EU law, as it affects social welfare entitlements. A new appeals officer will generally operate under the wing of an existing appeals officer for approximately three months. The level of complexity of a case as assigned will increase as time goes on. Experience shows that it takes up to two years for a new appeals officer to develop sufficient experience and knowledge to deal with most types of cases at full productivity.

The challenge is to get a quick fix. We all agree that immediate changes are required. In order to deal with the situation, two additional appeals officers were assigned to the office in 2009. These are above the retirees who are being employed on a part-time basis. An additional two administrative staff have been approved for the office. These officers have been assigned to enable 6,800 cases to be dealt with on-site in Longford without the need for the transfer of the majority of these cases to the social welfare appeals office.

There is currently an in-depth review of process in the office being carried out by the Department's business process improvement section. Enhancements to the office's IT and phone systems are being put in place which will greatly improve the flow of work in the office. Overtime, including on Saturdays, is being worked by staff of the office in an effort to reduce the backlog.