Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 122: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of claims for illness benefit being processed here; the way this compares to the number of applicants being processed in the same period in 2006 and 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39453/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I understand that the figures required by the Deputy relate to the number of Illness Benefit claims currently pending decision, the number currently in payment and comparative figures for 2006 and 2007. The figures are set out in the following table.

The significant expansion in the workforce over the last number of years has given an entitlement to Illness Benefit to an increasing number of people.

The number of Illness Benefit claims received in the period to October 2008 was 263,893. This was an increase of 10.6% and 4.3% on the respective periods in 2006 and 2007. Notwithstanding this increase, the average time taken to process an Illness Benefit claim so far this year is 7.5 days.

If a person applies for Illness Benefit and cannot meet their financial needs while they are awaiting a decision on their claim they can apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA). However, the Department prioritises claims from persons who have no other income and, in general, these are cleared within three days. Because of this, recourse to SWA is very low.