Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the targets his Department has set in relation to the timescale for the processing of claims and of appeals for the respective schemes administered by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23084/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has adopted challenging performance targets in relation to the timescale for the processing of claims and these are published in its customer action plan. I will provide the deputy with a tabular statement that sets out those performance targets and the actual performance achieved for the month of April. These targets refer only to new and repeat claims and do not reflect the significant amount of work involved in dealing with changes to current claims e.g. to amend entitlement where a person's circumstances have changed. Specific targets are not set in respect of appeals but the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office has as an objective in processing appeals as quickly and expeditiously as possible.

In 2005 decisions were given in respect of some 2 million new or repeat claims. In addition some 14,000 appeals are dealt with by the Social Welfare Appeals Office on an annual basis. The time taken to process a claim is measured by calculating the elapsed time from the date the claim is made until the date of decision. However, no account is taken of the many factors outside my Department's control which can impinge on the time it takes to make a decision e.g. the supply of relevant information by the customer, employers, other third parties or the provision of medical reports.

The report for the month of April shows that the relevant targets were met or exceeded in 10 out of 27 areas during the month. The year to date performance shows an improvement over 2005 in 14 out of the 27 areas. I should point out that the Easter holiday period affected the performance figures for the month of April.

My Department is committed to ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply. These conditions vary from scheme to scheme and may include establishment of a customer's social insurance record, the provision of medical evidence, verification of identity, satisfying residency conditions and an assessment of means where appropriate.

In the past few years my Department has coped with increasing demands arising from significant changes to the social welfare code and in the numbers of persons accessing the system. While these factors have impinged on the ability to achieve the targets set, continuous efforts are made to improve the turnaround times for processing claims. Against a background of increased workloads and scheme complexities, my Department undertook a number of initiatives designed to improve customer service. The most significant of these is its service delivery modernisation (SDM) project which was recently put in place for retirement and contributory old age pension schemes. The project involves radical business, organisational and IT changes to the way these pension schemes are administered. A number of manual procedures and calculations have been automated so as to improve timeliness, accuracy and efficiency. The IT system will also have the facility to automatically generate and issue communications to the customer thus providing an improved level of information. Business procedures are being revised and the organisation of work is being restructured to maximise the benefits of the new IT System.

My Department is also developing enhanced management reporting systems as part of its Management Information Framework project. These reporting systems will provide detailed management information that will facilitate improved resource allocation and thus a better response to customer needs.

Apart from these developments, there is continued emphasis on providing staff with the necessary training and development so as to ensure they have the required knowledge and skills to carry out their work. I am conscious of the need to provide a quality service to our customers and, with my officials, I am working towards ensuring that my Department continues to deliver a first class service.