Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if an independent social welfare appeals office that is separate to the Department of Social and Family Affairs will be established. [37123/05]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the recent report from the Northside Community Law Centre calling for the simplification of the social welfare appeals system to ensure fairness for low income applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37203/05]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the recent report on the social welfare appeals system commissioned by the Northside Community Law Centre; and if he intends to tackle the barriers faced by persons making appeals as identified in the report. [37124/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 50, 92 and 93 together.

I welcome the recent report on the accessibility and fairness of the social welfare appeals system and I commend the Northside Community Law Centre for its role in commissioning it. The centre is funded by my Department and earlier this year I approved substantial additional funding for it so that it can continue its role in delivering a comprehensive and cost-effective legal advice service for our citizens. Every person who is dissatisfied with a decision on a claim to social welfare payment made by a deciding officer of my Department or with certain decisions made by health boards in regard to supplementary welfare allowance has a statutory right to appeal the decision. Their independence was underpinned by the establishment of the social welfare appeals office in 1990, since when it has operated independently of my Department. Appeals officers have always been independent in the exercise of their functions and this has been recognised and commented on by the courts. The appeals office dealt with more than 14,000 appealed decisions in 2004 with over 46% having outcomes favourable to appellants.

When the office was established it was not considered necessary to place it on a statutory footing. Various legislative changes, however were made to enhance the independence of the system. Functions such as receiving appeals, appointing assessors, notifying decisions, referral of cases to the High Court which hitherto had been those of the Minister were transferred to the chief appeals officer. The social welfare appeals system is a quasi-judicial one and the procedures involved are designed to ensure that every appellant's case gets full and fair consideration. The system is accessible and informal which gives it significant advantages in terms of providing the best possible services for social welfare customers.

The report highlights the need for a fair and impartial appeals system for appellants as regards their social welfare entitlements and raises a number of issues in relation to the effectiveness of the current service. However, several of the report's recommendations have already been implemented or are in the process of being implemented, mainly arising from of a major review of the social welfare appeals office which was completed in 2002.

The perception of the independence of the appeals office is a recurring theme in the report. While a minority of respondents expressed concern on this aspect, it is not clear that many of the appellants or agencies regarded it as a priority issue. Among those respondents who were successful in their appeals, some 85% considered the appeal system to be fair and 74% thought it easy to use.

There are a number of positive findings in this report which reflects credit on the appeals office. The voluntary and community organisations surveyed during the study considered that the appeals officers acted in a fair and impartial manner and put people at ease during appeal hearings which for many people could be stressful events. In addition, some 94% of survey respondents felt they had been given an opportunity to put their case and respond to issues raised during their appeal hearing.

While this report makes a positive contribution to the future planning and development of the social welfare appeals system, I am satisfied that the present system is working effectively and is providing a service to a high standard. No further legislative changes are proposed at this time.