John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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26. To ask the Minister for Social Protection his views on the fact that persons applying for carer’s allowance are waiting 19 weeks before their application is examined; the measures he is taking to deal with this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18762/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, there are currently delays in the processing of new carer's allowance (CA) applications. The Department is working hard to improve the processing times for CA applications. Additional resources have been applied to assist with these increases and overtime is being applied where appropriate. The continuing increase in the number of applications being received is a key factor in the Department’s ability to improve these times. The issue of resources for the processing of CA applications is kept under constant review to ensure the number of applications pending and the processing times are reduced significantly over the coming months. While additional staff have been assigned to help deal with the increased volumes, due to the complexity of the decision-making process for the scheme, it takes some time for new staff to be fully trained and develop expertise.

It would be my hope that with the additional staff fully trained and in place the delays should decrease in the coming months. It is also important to note that, frequently, additional delays are outside the control of the Department and are caused by the customer failing to fully complete the claim form or failing to attach the supporting documentation that is requested on the application form.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.