Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason delays are continuing to be experienced in her Department in deciding claims for carer's allowance; the number of cases that are yet to be decided; the number of cases being reviewed; the number of cases being appealed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21437/11]

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applicants she has received for carer's allowance on a monthly basis for the past six months; the waiting time from application to the awarding of the allowance; if she is satisfied with the time that it is taking for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21395/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 49 together.

The average time taken to award a claim for carer's allowance in the first half of 2011 was 13 weeks. A total of 8,171 applications were registered in the first 6 months of 2011 and 6,702 were processed in the same period. There are currently 5,294 applications awaiting a decision. There are 51,134 carer's allowance claims in payment. There are approximately 100 carer's allowance applications on hand where the applicant has supplied additional information and requested a review of a refusal by a deciding officer. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that there are currently 2,300 carer's allowance cases awaiting a decision on appeal.

I acknowledge that the time taken to process carer's allowance claims is not satisfactory but I am satisfied that the Department is taking appropriate steps to resolve the situation.

In particular, a major service delivery modernisation project is underway to improve the efficiency of administration of the carer's allowance scheme. This involves the development of IT functionality and associated business process re-organisation. It is anticipated that the new system will introduce significant processing efficiencies and a quicker and more responsive service to the customer. Accordingly, this project is being given high priority and involves a significant level of time and commitment from the relevant staff in the Department, which has had, however, a short-term negative impact on claim processing times. The first tranche of new carer's allowance claims will begin to be processed under the new system in August 2011.

While these new systems and processes will facilitate a significant improvement in overall processing times it should be noted that individual claims may still take some time to process. Entitlement to carer's allowance is based on satisfying medical, means and residency conditions. In determining entitlement to the allowance there are, in certain cases, unavoidable time lags involved in making the necessary investigations and enquiries to enable accurate decisions to be made. Delays can also arise if people applying for the allowance are not in a position to supply all the necessary information in support of their claim.

I am assured that the situation is being monitored closely by the Department.