Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will make a statement on the delays in processing applications for habitual residency, job seeker's allowance, medical cards and disability allowance; and the steps she is taking to clear the backlog of applications. [8678/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Firstly, with regard to the Deputy's query on medical cards, this is a matter for the HSE. I have no role in the issuing of medical cards.

The Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that all applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. Claims are processed in the most efficient and expeditious way possible, having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply to each scheme.

The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes, including Jobseekers Allowance and Disability Allowance, with effect from 1 May 2004. For clarity, applications for habitual residency are not received in the Department. However, when an application for one of these social assistance schemes is received, the Deciding Officer has to be satisfied that the claimant is habitually resident in the state in addition to satisfying the other qualifying conditions for the particular scheme.

Jobseekers Schemes

As the House is aware, there has been a huge increase in claims for jobseeker's schemes due to the downturn in the economy. The live register grew from 290,018 to 423,595 in the 12 months to December 2009 which has put a strain on services in our offices.

The average processing time for claims decided in January 2010 was 2.15 weeks for jobseeker's benefit and 6.82 weeks for jobseeker's allowance. This is the average nationally - there are fluctuations between offices.

Processing times can vary depending on the complexity of the claim, the availability of the necessary documentation from the applicant or their employer and in some jobseeker's benefit cases, the need to request social insurance details from other EU countries.

In the case of jobseeker's allowance, as this is a means-tested payment, a means assessment has to be carried out. This may require a home visit by a Social Welfare Inspector. Some jobseeker's allowance claims can be complex, particularly if there is property (other than the family home) or self-employment involved. Furthermore, all applicants for jobseeker's allowance must satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition.

In order to deal effectively with the increasing workload, the Department has tackled the issues in a number of ways. Additional staff, including investigative staff, have been assigned to our offices. In addition, six central decision making sections have been set up in Dublin City, Tallaght, Finglas, Carrick-on-Shannon, Roscommon and Sligo. Several process improvement initiatives have also been introduced to streamline the claims acceptance and decision process.

Disability Allowance

Disability Allowance is a weekly allowance paid to certain people with a disability who are aged over 16 and under 66. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency test.

Because there are three elements involved in establishing entitlement, this can add time to the overall claim adjudication process. 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 at time of application. In some instances, claims have to be referred to Social Welfare Investigators for means assessments which can be complex and take some time to complete.

Measures introduced by the Department to address the efficiency of Disability Allowance claim processing include the review of existing processes and procedures with the objective of reducing delays in claim processing, the review of ongoing staffing requirements and the judicious application of overtime working.

Another measure to improve the claim processing time is an increase in the number of claims which are desk assessed for means purposes with only the more complex cases being sent to Social Welfare Inspectors for investigation.

In addition, all claims are now being desk assessed by the Department's Medical Assessors, which saves time and resources.

The position regarding claim processing times over all schemes will continue to be closely monitored by the Department.

Anyone who is under financial pressure while awaiting a decision on their claim for a jobseekers scheme or Disability Allowance may apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance, which is subject to a means test and other qualifying conditions.