Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 314: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will use his discretionary powers to refer back to the appeals officer for reconsideration the appeal file in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41415/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Further to my response to PQ 26865/10 on 22 June 2010, I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that there is no update to the information given previously. The person concerned has not supplied any new evidence or new facts since that reply. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 315: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently waiting for appeals against decisions of social welfare officers; the average length of time an appeal takes to be processed; the extra resources that have been allocated to the appeals office to deal with the increased workload; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41427/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that, as of 31st October 2010, there were 20,959 cases being processed through various stages of the appeals system. Overall, the average time taken to process a summary decision was 28 weeks, while the average time to process an oral hearing was 44.5 weeks. These processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation and include all activities during this period including time spent in the Department for comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant and any further investigation, examination or assessment by the Department's Inspectors and Medical Assessors that is deemed necessary.

A considerable period of time is added to the process when an oral hearing is required because of the logistics involved in this process. During 2009, 59% of all appeal cases were dealt with by way of oral hearing but, due to some of the initiatives outlined below, this has been reduced to 31% in 2010 to date. In order to be fair to all appellants, the vetting of appeals and the arranging of oral hearings are dealt with in chronological order.

Since January 2009, 3 additional Appeals Officers have been assigned to the Office, as well as 4 additional staff to the administration area. In addition, it was decided to use experienced retired Appeals Officers strictly on a short term basis to supplement the current resources and eight of these officers have been operating on a part-time basis since July.

In addition to the provision of more staff, more emphasis is now being placed on dealing with appeals on a summary basis 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.

As a result of all of these initiatives, a total of 22,995 appeals have been finalised until the end of October in comparison to 14,278 in the same period in 2009. 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.