David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 227: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the average waiting time for a claim to be processed for each of the various schemes and payments in operation by her Department respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33152/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department is committed to ensuring that claims 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 involve, among other things, the need to establish the customer's social insurance record, verify medical incapacity for work, establish a customer's identity or their place of habitual residence and to assess means where appropriate.

In some cases there is an unavoidable time lag involved in making the necessary enquiries to enable decisions to be made. Time can also elapse where the applicants do not supply all the necessary information in support of their claim. Increases in the number of claims can also impact on processing times. However, operational procedures and the organization of work continue to be reviewed and restructured to maximize the benefits of technology and new developments in processing techniques and business information. The appended tabular statement sets out on a scheme by scheme basis, in respect of the month of August, the average times taken to award new claims.