Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the current waiting time for an application for family income supplement; the number of applicants currently waiting for their family income supplement application to be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40335/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

The average waiting time for new family income supplement (FIS) claims at the end of August was 18 weeks and for renewal applications was 16 weeks. At the end of August, there were 7,113 new FIS applications and 7,710 renewal applications awaiting decision. The volume of FIS claims on hands and the delays in processing are a consequence of continued strong claim intake.

The Department has introduced a number of measures to address the efficiency of claim processing for FIS in light of the current waiting times, including the assignment of temporary staff and the facility to assign overtime working where appropriate. Furthermore an in-depth business process improvement (BPI) project has commenced for the FIS scheme, the focus of which will be to optimise performance and provide improved customer service.

These measures will, over time, lead to more efficient processing and reduce the number of claims on hand. The position is being closely monitored and kept under review by the Department.