James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

20. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to the lengthy waiting times for carer's allowance applications; the current waiting time on a standard application; his plans to address the waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28781/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. The average waiting time for new carer's allowance (CA) applications at the end of August was 17 weeks. At the end of August, there were 4,834 CA applications awaiting decision. The volume of CA claims on hands are a consequence of continued strong claim intake and the delays in processing are frequently 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.

My Department has introduced a number of measures to address the efficiency of claim processing for CA and hope to have numbers on hand down to around 4k at the end of September.

The position is being closely monitored and kept under review by the Department.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.