David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 455: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the time it currently takes for a carer's allowance application to be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22084/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The average time to award a claim for carer's allowance is currently just under 9 weeks. Entitlement to carer's allowance is based on satisfying medical, means 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 people applying for the allowance are not in a position to supply all the necessary information in support of their claim.

The number of claims for carers allowance submitted in 2008 was 18,900. A total of 7,460 new applications for Carer's Allowance has been received this year to date (week end 29 May 2009), and a total of some 8000 claims has been finalised. The staff and other resources available to the Department are regularly reviewed having regard to the workload arising and other competing demands. The Department monitors available resources against workload on an ongoing basis with a view to ensuring optimum processing times for claims. A review of the existing processes and procedures has been completed by the Department for Carer's Allowance with the objective of reducing claim processing times, and improvements have been implemented. The position continues to be kept under close review.