David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 487: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of appeals received for each respective payment and average waiting time it takes the Social Welfare Appeals Office to process an appeal for each of the Departmental payments respectively; the number of appeals received in 2009 and to date in 2010; the number of appeals awaiting decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31656/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The information required by the Deputy regarding the number of appeals received for each respective payment and the average waiting time in respect of each payment is given in the table with this reply. The processing times for appeals is taken as the time between date of receipt and date of finalisation. Appeals not yet finalised are not counted.

I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that there are currently 21,718 appeals awaiting decision. There has been a significant growth in the number of appeals over the past couple of years with an expected intake of some 35,000 in 2010 compared with around 15,000 per annum up to and including 2007.

While this growth is clearly impacting on processing times, it must also be remembered that such processing times cover all phases of the appeal process including the submission by the Department of its comments on the grounds for the appeal, further examination by the Department's Medical Assessors in certain illness related cases, further investigation by Social Welfare Inspectors, where required, and circumstances may also arise where further information is sought from the appellant. Delays can also occur where the appellant submits new information or evidence, often at an advanced stage in the proceedings. In some cases adjournments may be sought by the appellants or their representatives.

A number of initiatives are currently underway designed to enhance the capacity of the office to deal with the current caseload and inflows. In that regard: - 2 additional Appeals Officers were assigned to the Office in 2009, - A number of additional staff are being assigned to the administration area of the Office, - The organisation of the Appeals Officer's work has been changed so as to increase productivity, - A project to improve the business processes in the office is underway and a number of improvements have already been implemented, and - Significant enhancements are being made to the office's IT and phone systems.

Notwithstanding these measures, it is clear that additional staff are required in the short term to address the backlog that has developed. It has been decided to use experienced retired staff strictly on a short term basis to supplement the current resources and the services of eight retired officers have now been secured on a part-time basis. The Chief Appeals Officer is monitoring the situation closely.