Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)
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Question 401: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the average time it is currently taking for a decision to be made regarding carer's allowance appeal; if there is a backlog in the section at present and the number of appeals awaiting decision; if an appeal is lodged in mid September 2010 the approximate date of decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35746/10]

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 427: To ask the Minister for Social Protection his plans to deal with the current five month backlog of appeal cases for domiciliary allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36260/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 401 and 427 together.

I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office there are currently 20,781 appeals being processed, of which 1,970 are in respect of Carer's Allowance. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal must be sought in each case. On the return of the papers and comments to the Social Welfare Appeals Office the case is referred to an Appeals Officer who will either make a decision summarily based on the documentary evidence or, if s/he considers it necessary, will list the case for oral hearing. Dealing with a case by oral hearing adds, on average, 11 weeks to the processing time. Given the volume of appeals and the foregoing factors, it is not possible to estimate the length of time before a case is determined. There was a 46% increase in the number of appeals received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office in 2009 when compared to 2008, which in itself was 27% greater than the numbers received in 2007. There was an increase of a further 44% in the number of appeals received in the first eight months of 2010. These increases have caused delays in the processing of appeals. In order to be fair to all appellants, the vetting of appeals and the arranging of oral hearings are being dealt with in chronological order.

A number of initiatives have been put in place 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 were 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 was undertaken which has resulted in a number of improvements being implemented, and

· Significant enhancements have been made to the office's IT and phone systems.

In addition, it was 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 and have been operating since July.

I am assured by the Chief Appeals Officer that she is keeping current processes under continuous review with a view to achieving a more effective throughput of appeals, while ensuring that any progress does not conflict with due process in terms of the rights of appellants and adherence to the requirements of natural justice.