Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the degree if any to which further staff redeployments are required or have been requested to deal with the extra social welfare payments arising from the economic downturn over the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21393/11]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 192: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which adequate staff are available to her Department to clear backlogs in respect of various social welfare payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21847/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 192 together.

The staffing needs of my Department are kept under constant review to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources. In the context of the Employment Control Framework targets, as determined by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department will continue to source available staff by way of transfer and redeployment from within the Department and from other Government Departments.

Arising from the economic downturn, in excess of 900 staff have been assigned to my Department, in the period since May 2008, to fill critical vacancies and additional posts that were approved to deal with the significant increase in claims for the various schemes operated by the Department.

It is recognised that the provision of additional staff in itself is not the only appropriate way to deal with the increased demands for the schemes operated by the Department. In this regard, all scheme areas in the Department are subject to continuous business process improvement supported by modern technology.

As the Deputy will be aware, one of the main impacts on current service delivery has been the increase in the Live Register. In this context, the Department has introduced a range of process improvement initiatives regarding claims for jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit. One of the most significant initiatives, aimed at reducing queuing and waiting times, involves customers attending their local office by appointment at which time the claim is taken and decided.

Processing times vary across schemes because of both the volume of applications and the differing qualification criteria. For example, means assessments are required for all of the social assistance schemes; medical examinations are required for some of the illness related schemes and customers must also satisfy the habitual residence conditions. In the case of the insurance-based schemes, it may be necessary to ascertain details of foreign insurance records.

Process improvements have resulted in a significant reduction in the number and proportion of all claims awaiting a decision. For example, there were 40,417 jobseeker's claims awaiting a decision on 9th July 2011 equating to 8% of the total claim-load. This compares favourably to 10th July 2010 when 52,542 claims or 10% of claim-load were awaiting decision and 82,520 claims or 17% of claim-load in July 2009.

As the Deputy is aware, it is planned to integrate the Community Welfare Service from the Health Service Executive, and employment and other services from FÁS into my Department. When this process is completed it will provide the basis for a new model of service delivery in my Department. The aim will be to ensure that income and employment support services are delivered in an effective and more timely case management based approach.