Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Question 351: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that staff in her Department are reportedly limiting the number of carer's allowance applications they are prepared to process each day; the reasons for such actions; the steps she is taking to address the matter; the average number of applications received by the Department on a daily basis this year; if she will provide details on the average number of applications for the carer's allowance processed each day; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27179/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There are no limits set by my staff or their managers in respect of the number of carer's allowance applications that are processed each day. Staff are expected to work to the best of their ability at all times and productivity and output is managed and monitored closely. The number of claims that can be processed in any given working day can vary as a result of a number of factors, including the relative complexity of the claims. An appropriate balance is set between ensuring claims are dealt with as expeditiously as possible while ensuring that only those applicants who are entitled to the payment are paid.

The annual number of new applications for carer's allowance received increased by almost 10% between 2009 and 2010 alone, whereas staffing resources assigned to the processing and maintenance of carer's allowance claims has not increased. The average time taken from claim registration to award for carer's allowance from 1 January 2011 to 31 August 2011 (166 working days) was 13.4 weeks. A total of 10,446 applications were registered in this period and 9,302 were processed in the same period. At the end August 2011, there were 51,134 carer's allowance claims in payment.

I acknowledge that the time taken to process carer's allowance claims is not satisfactory but I am satisfied that my 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 began 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 the intake of new carer's allowance applications continues to increase and 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.