Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

353. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of individual cases heard by the Social Welfare Appeals Office in the context of scope section appeals on an annual basis over the past ten years given that the Chief Appeals Officer has stated in the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands the appeals are heard with a number of cases attached to each one. [36092/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 and insurability of employment.

The information required by the Deputy in relation to insurability appeal cases decided by Appeals Officers over the past ten years is set out in the table below. The category of insurability includes cases where Scope Section has made decisions on the appropriate class of PRSI, as well as other matters determined by Deciding Officers, including voluntary contributions and the correct contribution records of individuals.

In relation to the Deputy's reference to appeals being heard "with a number of cases attached to each one" the Chief Appeals Officer has advised me that the discussion in relation to the use of ‘test cases’ before the Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection on 5th December 2019 specifically related to a number of cases considered in the 1990s. These cases, involving workers in a particular sector, were selected as so called 'test cases' not to determine the employment status of all workers in that sector but rather to identify criteria that could be used by Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers for the purpose of assessing each case on an individual basis and to improve the quality and consistency of decision making in relation to the determination of whether an individual was employed or self-employed. The Chief Appeals Officer has advised me that the test cases were not used to determine a particular outcome on a 'group basis' that would be applied to all cases from that employment sector, as seems to have been inferred by some observers, but instead that the cases informed the identification of criteria that could be applied to each individual case in that sector. Decision makers (both Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers) would then apply these criteria to all cases that came before them and depending on the circumstances of each case, as assessed by reference to these criteria, an individual decision would be made in each case. This approach was a precursor to the subsequent development on a tripartite basis of the Code of Practice for Determining Employment or Self-Employment Status of Individuals under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, a code which was subsequently updated in 2007 under the Towards 2016 Social Partnership Agreement.

The Chief Appeals Officer has also advised me that every individual making an appeal to her office always has the opportunity of having any evidence in their own case presented to and considered by an Appeals Officer. On rare occasions, usually where a number of workers engaged by the same employer are concerned, she may be asked either by the workers or the employer to make decisions on a ‘sample’ number of cases. The Chief Appeals Officer has agreed to this approach in very limited circumstances and only with the agreement of both the employer and the workers concerned. This approach has not been adopted during the period of her tenure in any case of an appeal where the classification of a worker as an employee or self-employed is the issue under appeal.

This approach can be an efficient way of dealing with issues that are common in appeal cases and where there are a number of workers attached to an appeal. However, the approach cannot compromise the integrity of the appeal process or deny any individual interested party due process. Each individual always has the opportunity of having any evidence in their own case presented to and considered by an Appeals Officer. Importantly, an individual decision issues in each case, and can be individually submitted for review to the Chief Appeals Officer or indeed, appealed to the Courts.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Insurability appeals decided by Appeals Officers 2011 to 2021