Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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126. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the current waiting times per social welfare payment for the processing of appeals by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21014/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The current average processing times for appeals of social welfare payments are set out in the following table.

These processing times are calculated from the registration date of an appeal to the date of its finalisation. They include all activities during this period, including time spent in the Department for comment by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant, and any further investigation, examination or assessment by the Department’s Inspectors and Medical Assessors that is deemed necessary. A considerable period of time is added to the process when an oral hearing is required because of the logistics involved in this process. Generally the vast majority of cases fall within average processing times but extenuating factors, which are often outside of the control of the Social Welfare Appeals Office, can cause greater delays in some cases.

Processing times of all appeal types reduced by 10.3 weeks overall in 2012 with respect to 2011, with time for an oral hearing time down by 13 weeks and the time for summary decision up by 2.7 weeks.

Because of its quasi-judicial nature, the processing of appeals takes time and reflects the fact that, by definition, the appeal process cannot be a quick one.

Table: Appeals processing times by scheme January - March 2013 – Summary and Oral

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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127. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the current waiting times per social welfare payment for the processing of reviews by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21015/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Where a claim is in payment, reviews can be initiated by the customer where there has been a change in their circumstances, by a relevant official of the Department where it appears warranted, or as part of the on-going control of schemes to ensure that the conditions of the scheme continue to be satisfied.

As qualifying criteria for schemes differ greatly, the nature and type of a claim review can also take many different forms and may include, for instance, a medical assessment, a review of means or a general review of the claim by a deciding officer.

Reviews may necessitate some or all of the following: a home visit by a social welfare inspector, attendance for a medical examination, other attendance at an office of the Department or a request to the customer for further documentation.

In view of the above it is not possible to provide the detailed information requested by the Deputy. However, if he wishes to furnish more detail as to a specific scheme or review I would be happy to respond.