Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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284. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the delay in issuing arrears relating to social welfare payments granted on appeal. [18541/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department is committed to ensuring that the decisions of appeals officers are implemented without delay.

In all cases, it takes a number of days for the relevant scheme area to receive notification of an Appeals Officer’s decision, together with returned case papers. Where the appeal has been granted, there are a number of necessary administrative steps which must be completed to give effect to the Appeals Officers decision. In some cases there will be inter-scheme and/or local/Intreo office follow up required, to reconcile overlapping benefit periods arising from the decision of the Appeals Officer, before the final due arrears balance can be established and subsequently paid. In most cases, allowing for the necessary administrative procedures, there are no significant delays being experienced in the finalising of Appeals Officer decisions and the payment of due arrears.

In 2013, approximately 18,000 new Disability Allowance applications were received and almost 20,500 applications were decided. This increased level of decision making resulted in a corresponding increase in the volume of requests for reviews and/or appeals against adverse decisions. This in turn has led to increased waiting times for arrears to issue in some successful appeal cases, where the person was in receipt of another weekly social welfare payment during the period in question. In successful appeal cases where the person was not in receipt of another weekly social welfare payment there are no significant delays in issuing due arrears.