Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 245: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when an appeal will be heard in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo [43918/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Payment of illness benefit, to the person concerned, was disallowed by a Deciding Officer following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the opinion that he was capable of work. An appeal was opened on 14 September 2010 and the Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that, in accordance with statutory requirements, the Department was asked for the documentation in the case and the Deciding Officer's comments on the grounds of the appeal. In that context, an examination by another Medical Assessor will be carried out. The person concerned will be notified when arrangements for the examination have been completed. 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.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 246: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if an application for one parent family allowance which has been refused will now be reviewed by an appeals officer [43946/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 12 October 2010. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Social Welfare Services on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer for consideration. As part of this consideration the Appeals Officer will decide whether the case can be decided on a summary basis or whether to list it for oral hearing. 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.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 247: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of appeals received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 to date; the number of staff, or full-time equivalents, assigned to processing these appeals for each of these years; the average length of the appeals process for person's in each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43966/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The following table sets out the numbers received, the number of staff and the average times for appeals for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that 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 advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that, the appeal from the person concerned has been referred to an Appeals Officer who proposes to hold an oral hearing on 8 December 2010. The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements. 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.