Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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394. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the average waiting time for a decision in relation to appeals for the invalidity pension, disability allowance, the domiciliary care allowance and the one-parent family payment; the average waiting time for appeal for each of these where there is no oral hearing and where there is an oral hearing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32861/14]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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395. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the average waiting time for a decision in relation to appeals for all social welfare payments paid on a weekly basis; the average waiting time for appeal for each of these where there is no oral hearing and where there is an oral hearing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32862/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 394 and 395 together.

A breakdown of the average time, where available, to award claims during June 2014 is detailed in Table 1. It should be noted that processing times vary by scheme reflecting the differing requirements to satisfy conditions such as income/means limits and medical eligibility. The processing times provided in the table also incorporate the impact of overall processing times of the appeals process.

The average processing time for an appeal of all social welfare payments paid on a weekly basis in cases where the appeal is decided by summary decision, and for those appeals decided following an oral hearing, is given in Table 2.

Appeal processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation. They include all activities during this period, including time spent awaiting any clarification from the appellant, time in the Department for comments 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. While this process carries an inherent delay in terms of finalising an appeal, it also crystalises the flexibility and accessibility of the appeals system. By its nature and because it is a quasi-judicial function, the processing of appeals takes time and reflects the fact that, by definition, the appeal process cannot be a quick one.

There has been a rapid and sustained increase in the number of appeals received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2009. Up to 2009, the average number of appeals received was 15,000 per annum whereas in 2012, the number of appeals received peaked at 35,484, reducing to 32,777 appeals in 2013. In parallel, the number of appeals finalised in the appeals office increased from 17,787 in 2009 to 38,421 in 2013. An additional 5,863 appeals were finalised in 2013 compared to 2012. Good progress has also been made in reducing the number of appeals on hand from 20,414 at 1 January 2013 to 10,586 at 14^thJuly 2014.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.

Table 1: Average time to award Claims June 2014

Table 2: Appeals processing times by scheme 01/01/2014 – 30/06/14