Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 575: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if and when rent supplement will be granted in the case of persons (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23485/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Service Executive (HSE) has advised that rent supplement has been awarded to the persons concerned from the 14 April 2008 at a rate of €423.70 per month. Arrears of rent supplement issued on 5 June 2008.

John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 576: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that applicants for the carers allowance are presently waiting up to six months to have their claims processed and the difficulties this is causing to people who benefit from having a carer such as the elderly, disabled and those in ill health; the steps he will take to rectify this situation to ensure that applications are dealt with in a reasonable period of time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23535/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Entitlement to carer's allowance is based on an applicant satisfying medical, means, full time care and residency conditions. In determining entitlement to the allowance there are, in certain cases, unavoidable time lags involved in making the necessary investigations and enquiries to enable accurate decisions to be made. Delays can also arise if persons applying for the allowance are not in a position to supply all the necessary information in support of their claim. Many applicants for carer's allowance are already in receipt of another social welfare payment while their claim is being processed.

The number of claims for carers allowance submitted in 2007 was 18,000 compared to 10,700 in 2006 representing an increase of 68%. The large increase in applications received is mainly due to the introduction of the half rate carer's allowance payment which came into effect from 27 September 2007. Approximately 8,900 new applications for Carer's Allowance have been received this year to date. The number of claims decided upon between January and the first week of June this year was 43% higher than in the same period in 2007.

The Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. The staff and other resources available to the Department are regularly reviewed having regard to the workload arising and other competing demands. The available resources are then used to discharge the Department's obligations towards its customers and in implementing cost effective controls to prevent and detect fraud and abuse.

The Department's Management Services Unit (MSU) monitors available resources against workload on an ongoing basis with a view to ensuring optimum processing times for claims.

The Department has introduced a number of measures to address the efficiency of claim processing for carer's allowance in light of the current backlog:

A review of existing processes and procedures has been undertaken with the explicit objective of reducing delays in claim processing.

The ongoing staffing requirement was recently reviewed in light of the increased volumes of claims.

Overtime working is being judiciously applied.

It is expected that on foot of the above measures, the number of claims on hand will be reduced in the coming months. The position is being closely monitored and kept under review by the Department.