Written answers

Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Department of Social Protection

Supplementary Welfare Allowance Payments

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 125 of 19 December 2012, the value, number and proportion of social welfare allowance payments form the last period for which figures are available that were recouped form primary social welfare schemes when applicants are awarded a primary social welfare payment; the value, number and proportion that were not recouped; if a thorough profiling of SWA claimants or any other economic analysis has been conducted by her Department to determine the ultimate cost to the State of supplementary welfare claims arising from processing delays; if not, her plans to do so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4198/13]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. SWA may be payable to customers awaiting the outcome of a claim or an appeal for a primary social welfare or Health Service Executive payment. The practice is that payments issued under the SWA scheme are fully recouped, where possible, from the primary social welfare scheme on award. Scheme conditions, such as payment waiting days, may affect full recovery in some instances. Due to the nature of the scheme and the high level of customer churn, it is not possible to provide the statistics requested by the Deputy. The compilation of these figures would require individual tracking of each customer’s claim for a specified period.

I can, however, assure the Deputy that the Department has introduced a number of measures which, when combined, will reduce the recourse to SWA. These include the transfer of the Community Welfare Service from the Health Service Executive to the Department on 1st October 2011 with the purpose of providing a streamlined, consistent and enhanced service to the customer. The process of integration is on-going and progress has already been made with a new unified service, Intreo, now in the process of being delivered across all local offices. A significant feature of the new Intreo service is an integrated decisions team comprising deciding officers, community welfare service staff and investigators which has enabled decisions on primary payments for jobseekers to be made within a short time and has resulted in reduced recourse to a SWA payment.

Significant efforts are also being made in the processing of illness related schemes with additional temporary staff having being assigned to the area, the recent completion of a major service delivery modernisation project and an in-depth business process improvement project having commenced with the aim of eliminating backlogs and improving customer service. Significant resources and efforts have also been put into reducing volumes and improving processing times for appellants to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers.

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