Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

274. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which her Department can accommodate earlier processing of appeals in respect of all categories of payment under her Department's control; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48987/21]

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.

The time taken to process an appeal reflects all aspects of the appeal process including the time spent in the Department reviewing the decision in light of the appeal contentions and/or preparing the appeal submission. Some 20% of cases will be revised in favour of the appellant as a result of this review process. In some cases, further investigation may be required at this point (e.g. in relation to means or medical issues) and this can add to the time taken to process an appeal.

The appeals process is a quasi-judicial process with Appeals Officers being required to decide all appeals on a ‘de-novo’ basis. Appeal decisions are subject to review by the High Court. The nature of the appeals process impacts on the processing times which are proportionate to the complexity of many of the issues under appeal which often require a high level of judgement in addition to the need to ensure due process and natural justice.

Appeals may be determined on a summary basis or by means of an oral hearing. Where an oral hearing is necessary the logistics involved in scheduling the hearing and giving the appellant and any other witnesses adequate notice adds to the timeframe involved.

Other factors which impact on processing times include increased complexity, an increasing demand for oral hearings and the loss of Appeals Officer experience and corporate knowledge due to the high number of retirements in recent years. Ensuring that appeal processing times are as short as possible is a priority for the Chief Appeals Officer.

As a result, average appeal processing times have improved between 2018 and 2020 from 30.0 weeks for an oral hearing in 2018 to 27.1 weeks in 2020, and from 24.8 weeks for a summary decision in 2018 to 15.5 weeks in 2020.

The latest data for the period January to September 2021 shows a further improvement to 26.2 weeks for an oral hearing and 13.8 weeks for a summary decision.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.