Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Question 63: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the backlog of applications for single parent family payment in Balbriggan in Dublin North, but also generally throughout the country, with some parents waiting for the first eight months of a child's life or longer with very little information about their claim; if there are plans to deal with this backlog; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12193/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There are a number of statutory conditions that must be met by a person to qualify for a lone parent family payment and, accordingly, claims can involve significant processing. He or she must be habitually resident in the State, have the main care and charge of at least one child, must not be cohabiting and must satisfy a means test. It may also be necessary to establish that efforts have been made to obtain maintenance from the former spouse or partner before a decision can be made. Most applications also require a home visit from an inspector.

The Department aims to award 90% of one parent family payment claims in 10 weeks. Nationally, 45% of decisions meet the target, while in Balbriggan, 24% of claims are decided in 10 weeks. The national average processing time for a one parent family payment claim in April 2011 was 15 weeks, while in Balbriggan it was 30 weeks. The majority of applicants are in receipt of another social welfare payment pending a decision on a one parent family claim.

I understand that there is a backlog of one parent family claims pending decision in Balbriggan, but am assured that a programme of work is currently underway to address the situation and reduce processing times to a more acceptable level.