Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of appeals officers working in the appeals office at the moment; the number of cases assigned to each officer at this time; the number of applications awaiting assignment to an appeals officer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32169/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that there are 39 Appeals Officers working in the Appeals Office. A new Appeals Officer has just been appointed and will take up duty within the coming weeks. In order to ensure the smooth running of the appeal system, cases are issued to the Appeals Officers on a staggered basis. Therefore the number of cases assigned to individual Appeals Officers at a given point in time will vary considerably. Overall, there are currently 3081 cases assigned to Appeals Officers with a further 3,252 awaiting assignment.