Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent)
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399. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form, a breakdown of the current number of appeals received for each social welfare payment; the average completion time for these appeals; and the percentage of appeals, in respect of each payment, which are upheld by the appeals office. [32873/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The figures requested by the Deputy relating appeals received for each social welfare payment, the average completion time for these appeals, and the percentage of appeals, in respect of each payment, which were upheld by the Appeals Office are provided in Tables 1-3 below.

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 which has placed extraordinary pressure on the office. 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 order to manage this increasing workload, significant resources and efforts have been put into reducing backlogs and improving appeals processing times for appellants, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers, in addition to 10 former Community Welfare Service Appeals Officers who joined the appeals office in 2011, bringing the total number of serving Appeals Officers to 41; reviewing and improving business processes; and implementing a new operating model within the appeals office. A major programme of process redesign and modernisation is also under way 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.

In addition to the improvements in processing times mentioned above, these measures have also led to a significant increase in the number of appeals finalised in the appeals office 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 11,569 at 30^thJune 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: Appeals on Hands at 30^thJune 2014

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

Table 3: Appeals decided by Appeals Officers 01/01/2014 – 30/06/14