Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the average length of time taken to process an application for contributory or non-contributory old age pension in each of the past three years to date; the numbers granted; refused or pending, the most common reason for refusals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44869/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers and to ensuring that claims are processed as efficiently and expeditiously as possible. Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the number of claims received and the differing qualification criteria. Means-tested payments such as State pension (non-contributory) can require more detailed investigation and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision making process.

Through ongoing business process improvement projects, the operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work in all scheme areas are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised. As part of the Department’s programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims and improving claim processing times, supported by modern technology, have been implemented in recent years. The State pension (non-contributory) scheme transferred to a new technology platform in 2011, and this will ensure that the scheme is operated more efficiently and that processing times will improve incrementally.

In addition, the staffing needs of the Department are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources. The Department will continue to source available staff to fill critical vacancies by way of redeployment, or transfer from within the Department and other Government Departments, taking account of the employment control framework target, as determined by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

I wish to assure the Deputy that prompt processing of claims remains a priority for me.

The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the tables below.

The most common reasons for claim disallowance are:

State pension (contributory) - conditions of entitlement not satisfied.

State pension (non-contributory) - means exceed the statutory limit.

Table 1: State pension (contributory) claims processing 2009 to 2012:

*to end-Sept 2012

Table 2: State pension (non-contributory) claims processing 2009 to 2012:

*to end-Sept 2012