Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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557. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if waiting times in respect of appeals against decisions taken by her Department can be reduced further with particular reference to hardship being caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25550/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.

The time taken to process an appeal reflects a number of factors including that the appeals process is a quasi-judicial process with Appeals Officers being required to decide all appeals on a ‘de-novo’ basis. In addition, appeals decisions are themselves subject to review by the High Court and decisions have to be formally written up to quasi-judicial standards. Other factors that influence appeals processing times include the quality of the initial decision – in this respect the Department has changed the decisions process in respect of medical schemes, in order to provide more information to the claimant. It is expected that this will help to reduce the number of appeals over time.

Significant efforts and resources have been devoted to reforming the appeal process in recent years. As a result, appeal processing times in respect of all schemes generally improved between 2012 and 2019 from 39.5 weeks for an oral hearing in 2012 to 26.9 weeks in 2019, and from 27.8 weeks for a summary decision in 2012 to 22.1 weeks in 2019.

Processing performance has in the past number of years been affected by a relatively large number of retirements in the Appeals Office - although these staff have been replaced it takes time for a new Appeals Officer to reach full productivity. Nevertheless, the latest data for the period January to August 2020 shows a further improvement of 25.7 weeks for an oral hearing and 16.5 weeks for a summary decision. This was achieved in the context of a significant increase in the number of appeals being finalised. 17,985 appeals were finalised in the period January - August 2020 compared to 14,399 in the corresponding period for 2019. Achieving further reductions in processing times is a priority for the Chief Appeals Officer.

Every effort is being made to progress appeals on hand. In the light of Covid-19 restrictions appeals are currently being very largely determined on a summary basis. In respect of individual cases it is possible for Appeals Officers to gather additional information or seek clarifications on matters relating to the appeal (for example by telephone or email) which might otherwise have would been ascertained in the course of an oral hearing.

The Chief Appeals Officer has advised me that the use of video technology for remote hearings is also being examined. The use of video technology will need to ensure the maintenance of fair procedures, confidentiality, compliance with data protection and other legal requirements.

Finally, where a claimant has been refused a social welfare payment, regardless of the scheme involved, and is appealing that decision, it is open to them to apply for supplementary welfare allowance in the interim if their means are insufficient to meet their needs. If their application for supplementary welfare allowance is refused, they can also appeal that decision.

The average waiting times for the first eight months of 2020 for appeals in respect of schemes operated by the Department is contained in the table below.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Appeal Processing Times by Scheme 1 January 2020 - 31 August 2020