Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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312. To ask the Minister for Social Protection his views on whether the current backlog and processing time for social welfare claims is acceptable; the steps he is taking to alleviate the backlog; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25906/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. Each scheme area is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure customers are responded to and claims are processed as quickly as possible.

However, the Department has experienced some difficulty in recent times with the maternity benefit scheme, where it has not been possible to process all claims in advance of their maternity leave commencement date. Corrective actions have been taken and good progress is being made, with the number of expectant mothers who are impacted reducing significantly week by week.

Schemes that require medical and other supporting documentation can take some time to properly assess, particularly as the opinion of one of the department’s medical assessor’s is routinely required. Increasing numbers applying have also been a feature of these schemes in recent years. In addition to the increased volumes, there has recently also been a significant increase in the complexity and length of time required to process applications.

Efforts continue across all schemes to improve processing times, with a noticeable improvement in processing times for carer's allowance over the last twelve months, the average time to award reducing from 22 weeks in May 2016 to 12 weeks in April 2017.

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. Staffing levels are also kept under continuous review to ensure the best use of available resources.