Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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301. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the status of social protection payments (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15539/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness, disability and caring schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested payments can also require more detailed investigation and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision making process. Delays can also arise when the application form is not competed fully or supporting documentation is not provided at claim stage or where additional information has been requested from the applicant but remains outstanding.

My Department’s Intreo service integrates employment and income supports and provides for a streamlined and personalised service to clients in accessing job opportunities and availing of supports to enable them to get back to work at the earliest possible opportunity. The Intreo centres also include a single integrated decision-making team that integrate and streamline the processes formerly undertaken by the different agencies now amalgamated into my Department. Already clients are seeing the benefits of the integrated decisions process in the form of shorter decision times and in the reduced recourse to supplementary welfare payments. In April 2016, the average number of weeks taken to process a jobseeker's allowance application was 2 and a jobseeker's benefit claim was 1.

Disability allowance applications were processed in an average of 10 weeks in April 2016.

Carer’s allowance, which is a means-tested schemes, are experiencing delays presently, averaging 20 weeks in April 2016. Delays are also occurring in domiciliary care allowance, where claims were processed in an average of 13 weeks in April. This primarily is due to an ongoing increase in new claim intake over the past few years to all three of these schemes and the complexity attached to processing of these applications. In addition, there is sometimes a reluctance on the part of applicants to give full information at application stage thereby slowing down the processing of their application and in some cases necessitating a visit by an Departmental investigative officer.

The social welfare appeals office has supplied details in tabular form as follows of the processing time across all scheme types in 2016 up to the end of May.

Reducing these waiting times is a priority for my Department. As part of its programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been implemented by my Department in recent years. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised.

In addition, staffing needs are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Appeal processing times by scheme 01/01/2016 – 31/05/2016