Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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863. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the waiting times for the processing of applications for carer’s allowance and carer's benefit; the number of applications waiting at present, per county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16093/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Carer’s allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.

My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers.  This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

The current waiting time for the processing of applications for Carer’s Allowance is 6 weeks.  The current waiting time for the processing of applications for Carer’s Benefit is 4 weeks.  Please see below for breakdown of claims pending/waiting by county in tabular form at 31 March 2023.

The volume of CA claims on hands are a consequence of continued strong claim intake and any delays in processing are frequently caused by the receipt of incomplete claim forms or that supporting documentation requested on the application form is not provided.

In general terms, processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria.  Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of disability and caring schemes, can take longer to process.  Similarly, means-tested payments also require more detailed investigation and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision-making process.

Carer’s Allowance claims pending per county

Carer’s Benefit claims pending per county

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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864. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the waiting times for the processing of applications for disability allowance; the number of applications waiting at present, per county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16094/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance for people with a disability aged between 16 and 66 with a disability expected to last for at least one year and who satisfy the medical condition, means test and are habitually resident in Ireland. 

My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

The processing target for the Disability Allowance (DA) scheme is to award 75% of applications within 10 weeks.  The average number of weeks to award a DA claim in February 2023 was 10 weeks.  My Department understands the many pressures faced by people and always seeks to ensure that claims are processed quickly and efficiently.

I can confirm that the current number of applications awaiting decisions are 5,397.  The table below lists the number of applications per county.

Claim processing is kept under active review, with all possible steps taken to improve processing times.  This includes the assignment of additional resources, where available, and the review of business processes, to ensure the efficient processing of applications.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.