John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 311: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the vetting of carers allowance applications can be expedited as they are taking at least nine months to process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29083/12]

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, as far as possible, in order of the date on which they were received in the Department. The average time to process a claim for carer's allowance, which includes an assessment of the means, medical evidence, residency and full-time care aspects, is approximately 28 weeks at present. There are currently approximately 8,830 new applications registered and awaiting a decision and approximately 330 new applications are received each week.

A major service delivery modernisation project is underway to improve the efficiency of administration of the carer's allowance scheme. This involves the deployment of information technology solutions 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. Full deployment for carer's allowance will be achieved by mid-June but it will be a number of months before the backlog is reduced to an acceptable level.

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. Once full deployment of the new systems is complete, it is planned to undertake a full review of processes in the area with a view to further streamlining and improving service to customers including reducing the backlog and the waiting time for a decision on a new claim. In the meantime, if a person's means are insufficient to meet their needs while awaiting a decision on an application, he/she may apply for a means-tested supplementary welfare allowance.