Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 95, 122 and 126 to 128, inclusive, together.

I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that 13,444 appeals are currently registered with that office, of which 2,751 are disability allowance appeals, 1,645 are carer’s allowance appeals, 1,422 are jobseeker’s allowance (means) appeals and 1,101 are jobseeker’s allowance (payments) appeals.

Details of average processing times for these schemes for 2010 to 2013 which are provided in the attached tables point to significant improvements in appeal processing times, particularly in cases where an oral hearing was required.

In the case of disability allowance appeals, the average processing time for an oral hearing reduced from 51.1 weeks in 2010 to 36.2 weeks in 2013. Carer’s allowance appeals which required an oral hearing took an average of 47.3 weeks in 2010 reducing to 33.5 weeks in 2013. A similar trend was reflected in the area of jobseeker’s allowance with jobseeker’s allowance (means) appeals down from 46.9 weeks in 2010 to 29.7 weeks in 2013 and jobseeker’s allowance (payments) appeals down from 43.0 weeks to 26.7 weeks in 2013.

Appeal processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation and include all activities during this period including time spent awaiting clarification from the appellant, time in the Department for comments by the Deciding Officer and further investigation or medical examination, if deemed necessary. A major programme of process redesign and modernisation is underway in the Department in relation to many of its scheme areas aimed at reducing backlogs and reducing the time taken by the Department to respond to requests from the appeals office for submissions in relation to appeals. It is anticipated that with these improvements, the processing times for appeals will continue to improve throughout 2014.

Processing times for Disability Allowance Appeals 2010-2013

Processing times for Carers Allowance Appeals 2010-2013

Processing times for Jobseeker’s Allowance (Means) Appeals 2010-2013

Processing times for Jobseeker’s Allowance (Payments) Appeals 2010-2013