Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 938: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1096/09]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 952: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1348/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 938 and 952 together.

The person concerned applied for family income supplement on 3 July 2008. Her claim was disallowed on 28 August 2008 by a Deciding Officer of the Department on the grounds that she was not working the required number of hours. An appeal was opened on 17 October 2008 and I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the case has been referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to hold an oral hearing. The person concerned will be informed when arrangements have been made. The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an office of the Department that is independently responsible for determining appeals against decisions on Social Welfare entitlements.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 939: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, further to Parliamentary Question No. 380 of 4 December 2007, the position regarding the processing times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1111/09]

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. 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. Operational procedures, the organisation of work, and the allocation of staff resources continue to be reviewed and restructured to maximise the processing capability in the scheme areas to improve these times.

The following tabular statement sets out for comparison purposes the average times taken to award claims on a scheme by scheme basis, the information previously supplied for October 2007 and the corresponding details in respect of October 2008.