Written answers
Thursday, 14 July 2022
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social Welfare Appeals
Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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586. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for social welfare benefit claims from applicants in County Wicklow that were granted and refused grand on review, granted on appeal by scheme in the last available year in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39504/22]
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not distinguish between claims awarded following registration, claims awarded and subsequently disallowed or claims that are awarded following review. Detailed information on claims awarded, claims rejected, claims withdrawn and total claims registered are available in the Annual Statistics report at www.gov.ie/dsp/statistics.
Claims awarded on appeal are managed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office which 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.
All claim decisions taken by the Department’s Deciding Officers and Designated Persons are appealable to the Chief Appeals Officer. In any year about 85% of all claims are awarded by the Department and approximately 2% are appealed.
There are a number of reasons why a decision which was refused at first instance might be successful on appeal and it is not necessarily the case that the first decision was incorrect. It is often the case that new evidence is provided with an appeal and that, as a result, the original decision may be revised by the Deciding Officer or Designated Person.
Where the decision was not revised by the Department in light of the appeal contentions, further evidence is often provided by the person concerned as the appeal process proceeds and in addition, the Appeals Officer may gain insights when they meet the person concerned in person at oral hearing which may influence the outcome of the appeal.
The table below shows the outcome of appeals finalised for each benefit scheme in the last full calendar year (2021).
I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that these statistics are not maintained on a county by county basis, and it is not in a position to supply the information sought by the Deputy in relation to the specific county breakdown.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
| Benefit | Allowed | Partially Allowed | Revised Decision | Disallowed | Withdrawn | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Pension (Contributory) | 29 | 7 | 58 | 241 | 9 | 344 |
| Widow’s/Widower’s Pension (Contributory) | 5 | 2 | 11 | 38 | 5 | 61 |
| Jobseeker’s Benefit | 96 | 93 | 242 | 562 | 109 | 1,102 |
| Jobseeker’s Benefit Over 65 | 11 | - | 7 | 121 | 7 | 146 |
| Jobseeker’s Benefit Self Employed | 3 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 25 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment | 14 | 2 | 1,984 | 630 | 35 | 2,665 |
| Deserted Wife’s Benefit | 3 | - | 1 | 2 | - | 6 |
| Maternity Benefit | 4 | 3 | 21 | 30 | 1 | 59 |
| Paternity Benefit | 3 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 36 |
| Parent’s Benefit | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Partial Capacity Benefit | 42 | - | 14 | 81 | 12 | 149 |
| Illness Benefit | 33 | 10 | 433 | 202 | 49 | 727 |
| Injury Benefit | 15 | 1 | 13 | 32 | 18 | 79 |
| Invalidity Pension | 869 | 5 | 439 | 675 | 19 | 2,007 |
| Disablement Benefit | 79 | 18 | 41 | 169 | 4 | 311 |
| Incapacity Supplement | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
| Medical Care | - | - | 1 | 2 | - | 3 |
| Carer’s Benefit | 58 | 3 | 97 | 119 | 4 | 281 |
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