Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 260: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will investigate the length of time it took for an appeal to be heard on behalf of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo in view of the fact that a decision was reached on the appeal on 6 March 2009 and by the 31 March 2009 the file had not left the appeals office, that the person still has not received payment and that this delay is causing stress on the elderly person in question. [14523/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to my replies to previous parliamentary questions on 21 October 2008 and 2 December 2008 in relation to the person concerned.

I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that, following an oral hearing, the appeal of the person concerned was partially allowed. He was notified accordingly on 6 March 2009. Subsequent to that, it became apparent that an error had been made in calculating his means for the purposes of his claim. A revised appeal decision, which increased his entitlement, was issued to the person concerned on 30 March 2009. He was advised at that time that any inconvenience arising from the need to ensure the correct decision was given in his case was regretted.

Given the quasi-judicial nature of the social welfare appeals system, the procedures in place for determining appeals are designed to ensure that each case receives full and satisfactory consideration and that, in the light of those constraints, appeals are determined as expeditiously as possible. The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an office of the Department that is independently responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.