Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 403: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the action he is taking to deal with the backlog in social welfare appeals [39268/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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A number of initiatives have been put in place to enhance the capacity of the Social Welfare Appeals 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.