Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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208. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the social welfare services office on receipt of additional documentation in support of a disability allowance claim (details supplied) treats the supply of additional supporting documentation as formal notice of an appeal of the decision and forward a person's file to the social welfare appeals office for a decision. [3763/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Under social welfare law, decisions on entitlement to payments such as disability allowance are made by a Deciding Officer (DO), based on the evidence and information provided by the person applying for the payment.

The decision of a DO can only be revised in certain circumstances. Where a DO decides that a person is not entitled to a payment and further evidence is subsequently submitted to the Department, this evidence is normally accepted as being a request for a review or an appeal of the DO’s decision.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of my Department which, under social welfare legislation, is independent in its decision-making. However, Legislation does provide that a Deciding Officer can refer a case directly to the Social Welfare Appeals Office and that, where such a referral is made, it should be treated by the Social Welfare Appeals Office as if it were an appeal by the applicant.

Where a DO accepts further evidence as being a request for an appeal, that evidence is forwarded to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. The intention in such cases is to ensure that the person’s entitlements are determined as efficiently as possible.

The appeals process subsequently involves the preparation of a submission by the DO and this submission, along with the applicant’s file, is forwarded to the SWAO for their decision on the matter.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.