Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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482. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the total number of carer’s allowance claims appealed; the number of appeals that were successful in each of the years 2015 to 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8653/23]

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 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.

Improvements in appeals processing times is a priority for the Chief Appeals Officer. The desire to process appeals quickly has to be balanced with the competing demand to ensure that decisions are consistent and of high quality and made in accordance with the legislative provisions and the general principles of fair procedures and natural justice.

Currently there are 41 Appeals Officers serving in the Social Welfare Appeals Office. This staffing cadre is kept under review.

The following table provides the number of Carer's Allowance appeals received as well as the outcome of these appeals, from 2015 to 2022.

Carer’s Allowance Appeals 2015-2022

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.