Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 384: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the current timeframe for dealing with applications for carer's allowance; her plans to increase staffing levels within this section to reduce the length of time applicants are waiting before a decision is made. [26924/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers. In the interests of fairness and equity applications are processed in order of the date on which they were received in the Department.

A major service delivery modernisation project is underway to address the large increase in the claim-load and to improve the efficiency of administration of the carer's allowance scheme. This involves the development of information technology functions 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, the project is being given high priority and involves a significant level of time and commitment from the relevant staff in the Department. This essential focus of certain staff resources will continue until the completion of the modernisation project when all existing carer's allowance claims will be transferred onto the new processing system.

Accurate processing time figures are not available at present as applications are still being processed on both the old and the new computer systems. The average time to award an application at present is estimated at around 28 weeks. There are currently approximately 8,670 new applications registered and awaiting a decision and approximately 360 new applications are received each week. I acknowledge that this is unsatisfactory but I am satisfied that the Department is taking all steps available to it to resolve the issue.

In addition to the deployment of new systems, the Department is allocating additional resources in the form of overtime working and temporary staff to help reduce backlogs that have built up. However, it is expected to be a number of months before the backlog is reduced to an acceptable level.

In the meantime, if a person's means are insufficient to meet their needs while awaiting a decision on an application, they may apply for a means-tested supplementary welfare allowance payment from their local community welfare officer.