Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 229: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the progress made to date implementing the commitment in the programme for Government to clear the social welfare appeals backlog and introduce a consolidated appeals process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28217/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the number of appeals waiting to be processed at present is 17,655 (a reduction of some 3,126 on this time last year). These figures must be seen against a background where there has been a very significant increase in the number of appeals received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2007 when the intake was 14,070 to 32,432 in 2010. Current indications are that, while there now appears to be a slight drop in the number of appeals being received in 2011, the annual intake is still likely to be close to 30,000 for the year.

In an effort to reduce the backlog of appeals, the Department made 9 additional appointments to the office earlier this year. These assignments augment the 3 appointments made to the Office in 2010, bringing the total number of Appeals Officers serving in the office to 29. In addition a number of initiatives have been undertaken with a view to increasing capacity and the combination of these initiatives and the additional staff resulted in 22,226 decisions being made by Appeals Officers in the first eight months of 2011, in comparison to 17,184 for the same period in 2010 and 10,911 in 2009. These initiatives included -

Appeals Officers took on additional work and more emphasis was placed on deciding claims on a summary basis where possible;

Enhanced business processes and ICT have has also increased the capacity of the office;

Some 3,000 cases, registered prior to 31/12/10, have been ring fenced and a team of 10 of the Office's most experienced Appeals

Officers have been freed from all other work in the Office and will concentrate on clearing this backlog by the end of this year. Overall, it is expected that the increase in the number of decisions being made by Appeals Officers will continue and this, combined with the slight reduction in the numbers received should lead to on-going reductions in the backlog of appeals and in the processing times.

In relation to a consolidated appeals process, as of last Monday the 3rd October, legislation was commenced which provides that all appeals for supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) will be made to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. Up to now, the legislation provided for a 2 step process, first to the HSE and, if still dissatisfied, to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. It is estimated that approximately 10% or 1,000 SWA appellants availed of the 2 step process (based on 2010 figures). 10 former HSE Appeals Officers are now being integrated into the Social Welfare Appeals Office on foot of the transfer of these appeals from the HSE and it is hoped that there are synergies to be gained from that merger and the reduction in SWA appeals which will further enhance the capacity of the office.