Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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271. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the waiting times on a county basis for hearings to be held at the Employment Appeals Tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6761/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Employment Appeals Tribunal is independent in the exercise of its quasi-judicial function and I have no direct involvement in its day to day operations. The Tribunal is one of the front-line services directly affected by the current turbulence in the labour market. The Tribunal hears claims under 18 separate pieces of legislation, some of which are lodged as direct claims to the Tribunal and others which come to the Tribunal by way of appeal or implementation of a Rights Commissioner’s recommendation/decision.

I am informed that the waiting periods for a hearing at the Tribunal at the end of January 2014 ranged from 42 weeks to 103 weeks, with an average waiting time outside Dublin of 74 weeks and within Dublin of 71 weeks. These figures are an improvement on the end January 2013 outturns of 81 and 77 weeks respectively. I have attached a table showing waiting times as at January 2014.

However, these figures should be viewed in context. The Tribunal conducts hearings in about 29 locations around the country and from time to time cases are heard in counties other than the county where the employer is based. Where also, the number of cases is relatively small, the Tribunal may wait until a sufficient number of cases is on hand to make a visit worthwhile. In such areas, 5 days of hearings may reduce the “waiting time” in the area concerned by 30 to 40 weeks. As such the waiting times fluctuate on an ongoing basis. I understand that the Tribunal targets those areas with the longest waiting period and highest level of claims outstanding, within the resources it has currently available. Some counties no longer have hearing venues. For example Kildare , Louth and Wicklow cases are now heard in Dublin.

The Tribunal has been pro-active in driving efficiencies. Divisions of the Tribunal are sitting longer, hearing more cases per hearing and seeking to manage the caseload to maximise efficiency. As part of the drive for efficiencies, the Tribunal streams cases that are envisaged to be more straight-forward.

Overall County average waiting period: = 74 weeks (approximately)

The approximate waiting period as at 31 January 2014