Written answers
Thursday, 9 February 2023
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social Welfare Appeals
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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192. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which various decisions in respect of social welfare payments have been subsequently overturned on appeal by the applicants or her Department in the past 12months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6348/23]
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 Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that 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 is not revised by the Department in light of the appeal contentions, further evidence is often provided by the person concerned over the course of the appeal process and this may lead to the appeal being allowed or partly allowed by the Appeals Officer.
The table below provides details of the outcomes of all finalised appeals in 2022.
| Appeal Outcomes 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheme | Allowed by Appeals Officer | Part allowed by Appeals Officer | Revised Decision by Deciding Officer | Disallowed by Appeals Officer | Total |
| Back To Work Family Dividend | 1 | 1 | 14 | 25 | 41 |
| Blind Pension | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 13 |
| Carer’s Allowance | 804 | 67 | 520 | 1,953 | 3,344 |
| Carer’s Benefit | 76 | 1 | 78 | 113 | 268 |
| Carer's Support Grant | 89 | 4 | 40 | 191 | 324 |
| Child Benefit | 31 | 7 | 118 | 150 | 306 |
| Death Benefit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Deserted Wife’s Benefit | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Disability Allowance | 2,348 | 74 | 722 | 2,222 | 5,366 |
| Disablement Benefit | 51 | 7 | 21 | 122 | 201 |
| Domiciliary Care Allowance | 698 | 48 | 712 | 535 | 1,993 |
| Farm Assist | 10 | 8 | 22 | 32 | 72 |
| Guardian’s Payment (Contributory) | 12 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 44 |
| Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory) | 5 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 20 |
| Illness Benefit | 37 | 2 | 1,129 | 238 | 1,406 |
| Incapacity Supplement | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Injury Benefit | 12 | 0 | 14 | 35 | 61 |
| Insurability of Employment | 60 | 1 | 11 | 46 | 118 |
| Invalidity Pension | 570 | 7 | 387 | 590 | 1,554 |
| Jobseeker’s Allowance | 170 | 56 | 520 | 822 | 1,568 |
| Jobseeker’s Allowance (Means) | 43 | 16 | 167 | 377 | 603 |
| Jobseeker’s Benefit | 88 | 23 | 389 | 388 | 888 |
| Jobseeker's Benefit Over 65 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 145 | 178 |
| Jobseeker's Benefit Self Employed | 5 | 0 | 18 | 30 | 53 |
| Jobseeker's Transitional | 9 | 3 | 31 | 41 | 84 |
| Liable Relatives | 1 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 33 |
| Maternity Benefit | 15 | 1 | 32 | 50 | 98 |
| One Parent Family Payment | 24 | 8 | 114 | 105 | 251 |
| Pandemic Unemployment Payment | 54 | 9 | 305 | 504 | 872 |
| Parent's Benefit | 3 | 2 | 18 | 13 | 36 |
| Partial Capacity Benefit | 35 | 4 | 5 | 50 | 94 |
| Paternity Benefit | 3 | 0 | 22 | 17 | 42 |
| State Pension (Contributory) | 32 | 11 | 122 | 327 | 492 |
| State Pension (Non-Contributory) | 34 | 24 | 70 | 159 | 287 |
| Supplementary Welfare Allowance | 111 | 20 | 144 | 571 | 846 |
| Treatment Benefits | 1 | 0 | 101 | 12 | 114 |
| Widowed Parent Grant | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Widows,Widowers Pension (Contributory) | 6 | 1 | 11 | 45 | 63 |
| Widows,Widowers Pension (Non-Contributory) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 16 |
| Working Family Payment | 54 | 5 | 795 | 236 | 1,090 |
| Totals | 5,506 | 420 | 6,728 | 10,202 | 22,856 |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
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