Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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380. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection what the current processing times are for all social protection payments in her remit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4093/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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.

In general, social welfare schemes which involve medical or caring conditionality take the longest time to process.

To help the Department make timely and fair decisions on applications, applicants should ensure that they complete the application form fully, attach all the supporting documentation required as per the checklist provided on the application form. It is particularly important that they provide, at the outset, all the details they have in relation to the medical conditions and/or care needs of the care recipient and the care they provide to that person.

It is also the case that, in order to register their claim and establish an early entitlement or claim date, many people submit a claim without first securing all of the necessary supporting documentation. While this ensures that people will be paid with arrears from an early "effective" date, it also means that claims take longer to process.

My Department consistently strives to enhance processing times and are continually reviewing processes to deliver optimal customer service.

Details of the current processing times for social welfare payments at the end of December 2023 are set out in the table below.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.