John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 276: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of medical referees attached to his Department; the number of medical referee refusals and approvals by each referee; and the number of those refusals that were subsequently allowed on appeal. [28386/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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There are 19 Medical Assessors employed by my Department, plus a Deputy Chief Medical Advisor and the Chief Medical Advisor. Medical Assessors carried out some 73,200 desk reviews and 29,200 examinations in 2006. In some 7,400 cases the claimant was found not to satisfy the medical criteria for receipt of the allowance or benefit. The opinion of the Medical Assessor represents an important part of the evidence on which decisions are made by Deciding Officers in cases relating to illness or disability. Overall figures regarding medical assessments are maintained, however, there is no breakdown by individual medical assessors

Where an appeal is lodged against the decision on medical grounds a second medical assessment is carried out by a different medical assessor. Some 3,700 appeal assessments were examined by Medical Assessors in 2006 and the original medical opinion was confirmed in almost 2,000 cases. While the majority of these cases would have been subsequently processed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office it is not possible to say what the outcome was in those specific cases.

During 2006 the Social Welfare Appeals Office finalised some 2,700 appeals in which the medical assessment was the subject of the appeal. Of these, some 55% of the appeals were allowed and 45% disallowed.