Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the delay in doing medical assessments is due to the availability of suitably qualified medical assessors; if it is intended to recruit medical assessors, if so, the number and in what locations; the number of medical assessors currently employed by her Department and in what locations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42626/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There is a current cadre of 27 Medical Assessors including the Chief Medical Advisor and the Acting Deputy Chief Medical Advisor. The Medical Assessors are fully qualified and experienced medical practitioners who must have at least 6 years satisfactory experience in the practice of medicine since registration with the Medical Council. Many of the Medical Assessors have specialist post-graduate qualifications and all have experience/training in Human Disability Evaluation.

The delay in processing medical assessments is due to a number of factors such as the increase in volume of customer claims to particular schemes, the time involved in assessing cases where there is lengthy medical evidence to be assessed and the recent retirement of 4 of the Medical Assessors. The Department is addressing this issue and is currently in the process of recruiting the first 3 Medical Assessors from a panel of 14 which was set up following a competition as arranged by the Public Appointments Service. These will be based in Dublin and Longford. The first of these new Medical Assessors is due to commence work in Dublin on 1st November 2012.

The breakdown in location of those currently employed is as follows: The Chief Medical Advisor and the Acting Deputy Chief Medical Advisor are based in headquarters in Dublin; 9 Medical Assessors are also based in Dublin; 3 Medical Assessors are based in Cork; 3 Medical Assessors are based in Longford; 2 Medical Assessors are based in Galway; and 1 Medical Assessor is based in each of Kilkenny, Letterkenny, Limerick and Waterford.

One of the Longford based Medical Assessors is on maternity leave at present. The Medical Assessors also carry out in person assessments of customers in the 48 Medical Review and Assessment Centres located around the country. Regardless of their location, all of the Medical Assessors have access to the Medical Review and Assessment Case Management System where they complete desk assessments of medical evidence submitted in relation to customer claims, appeals and reviews. Priority is given to urgent cases as required.