Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the clearance time targets set by his Department for assessing claims for the carer's allowance in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006; the percentage status performance of these targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10948/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that the decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions which apply.

The main clearance time target set by my Department for carer's allowance is to decide 70% of claims within nine weeks, in the context of a claim intake volume of 6,000 claims per annum. Annual claim volumes are currently in excess of 8,000 per annum. In February 2006, the most recent month for which statistics are available, 67% of claims were awarded within nine weeks. The average time to decide a carer's allowance claim was 8.8 weeks during 2005 as a whole. The average during the last quarter of 2005 was 7.6 weeks. The average in 2006 to date is eight weeks, although in many cases claims are processed within a shorter timeframe.

Claim processing times in earlier years were not as good. The targets were adjusted on a number of occasions between 2001 and 2005 and the percentage of claims awarded within the target timeframe varied between 22% and 54% in the years from 2001 to 2005. I am sending a table to the Deputy setting out the details for each of the years in question.

A number of improvements have been introduced by my Department to address the efficiency of claim processing for the scheme. A review of all existing processes and procedures has been undertaken with the explicit objectives of reducing any delays in claim processing. Applicants who are refused on medical eligibility grounds are provided with an interim decision. Such decisions are concluded within five weeks rather than the applicant waiting until all other aspects of his or her claim are decided. All applications that can be automatically approved on the medical evidence are fast tracked. Priority is being given to claims where a decision on entitlement has been outstanding for more than eight weeks. Additional staff resources were assigned specifically to improve the delivery of service.

In determining entitlement to the allowance there are, in certain cases, unavoidable time lags involved in making the necessary investigations and inquiries to enable timely and accurate decisions to be made. In addition to the work my Department has to carry out, there is also an onus on applicants to furnish all necessary documentation. Delays can occur as a result of the person applying for the allowance not having all the necessary information in support of his or her claim.

Some 50% of applicants for carer's allowance are in receipt of another social welfare payment while their claim is being processed. Such payments will normally continue until entitlement to their carer's allowance is determined. However, every effort is made to process applications as quickly as possible and to minimise the time during which applicants have to rely on alternative forms of support. The over-riding consideration in processing claims is to ensure that customers receive their correct entitlement and that decisions are not taken until all appropriate information is available.

The staff and other resources available to my Department are regularly reviewed having regard to the volume of claims, budget measures to be implemented and other competing demands. The available resources are then used to best advantage in discharging my Department's obligations towards our customers, while implementing cost effective controls to prevent and detect fraud and abuse. My Department is engaged in an ongoing process to ensure that existing resources are prioritised to the greatest extent possible on front line service delivery.

In conclusion, targets and performance indicators are being reviewed in the context of my Department's modernisation action plan and, in this context, it is intended to devise a more comprehensive set of performance indicators and improved systems for measuring and reporting on inputs, outputs and outcomes for the future.