Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 308: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to address the unacceptable long delays in the processing of invalidity pension claims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29039/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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At the end of May 2012 there were 7,007 Invalidity Pension (IP) claims registered and pending decision. Average time to award is currently 37 weeks, this includes the time taken to decide EU & bilateral cases which have a significantly longer processing time. Since the introduction of the two year expiration of illness benefit there has been a significant increase in the number of IP claims received in the Department. A high percentage of these applicants are not suitable for the invalidity pension scheme as they are not considered to be permanently incapable of work.

The processing time for individual Invalidity pension claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the qualifying criteria. In addition, factors outside the Department's control can have an impact, for example, insufficient information received from claimants at time of application and delays in claimants furnishing the information requested.

This Department is continually reviewing its processes in an effort to improve processing times and customer service. Many improvements have already been introduced in IP section. These improvements include the introduction of a new IT platform under the Department's service delivery model project which has led to further efficiencies in processing which resulted in an increase in the number of claims processed. Most claims are now desk assessed by medical assessors to determine medical suitability. Additional staff has been assigned to the IP area to help to reduce the backlog and waiting time. Overtime has been made available and is utilised on a judicious basis.

From June 2012 further changes have been introduced to assist with claim processing, a business process improvement project was carried out and a plan is now in place. Some staff have been reallocated from other duties to focus on claim processing, a phone bank has been introduced, many processes have been streamlined in an effort to improve processing times. Despite these improvements it is expected to be a significant number of months before the backlog are reduced to an acceptable level. Customers waiting on a decision on their IP claim, who have urgent income support needs, can apply for the means tested supplementary welfare allowance (SWA).