Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the processing time for one parent family payments in each social welfare office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34236/09]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the fact that one parent family applicants are waiting over three months to have their applications processed; her views on same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34237/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 130 together.

I want to assure the Deputy that the Department is committed to ensuring that claims for all schemes are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply.

People who apply for the One Parent Family Payment must satisfy a means test and provide evidence that they are living alone. They must also satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition. These processes may result in delays in awarding claim delays can also occur where the applicants do not supply all the necessary information in support of their claim.

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. Process improvement initiatives have been introduced in local offices which are primarily designed to assist with the processing of jobseeker claims, nevertheless, will also have a positive impact on claims for other schemes administered in the local offices.

Additional staff have been redeployed to local offices from other parts of the civil service and the Department has identified a number of locations where the increasing number of claims for means tested payments warrants the allocation of additional Social Welfare Inspectors. Arising from this, an additional 40 Inspectors are being assigned.

The tabular statement sets out the processing times for One Parent Family for September 2009 in the Social Welfare Offices that administer the scheme locally. In some areas processing times are unacceptably high but every effort is being made to bring these times back to acceptable levels as quickly as possible. The Deputy will be aware that anyone suffering hardship can apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). SWA provides a safety net against poverty in that it gives a statutory entitlement to a minimum weekly income, based on criteria set out in legislation. The majority of SWA claims are processed within a matter of days.

Average processing times for One-Parent Family Payment Scheme September 2009*

* to 26 Sept 2009)