Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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271. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average processing times for appeals made under section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7346/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.

The Social Welfare Appeals system is underpinned by legislation which sets down the roles, powers and functions of the Social Welfare Appeals Office and its Appeals Officers. Under the legislation, the decision of an Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may be reviewed under Section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 by an Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts.

If there is any new evidence or new facts pertinent to a case that were not brought to the attention of the Appeals Officer during the determination of an appeal, they may be submitted to the Appeals office for further consideration.

The average processing time for appeals decided under Section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 during the period 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023 was 10.6 weeks.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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272. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average processing times for appeals made under section 318 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7347/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.

The Social Welfare Appeals system is underpinned by legislation which sets down the roles, powers and functions of the Social Welfare Appeals Office and its Appeals Officers.

The Chief Appeals Officer has power under Section 318 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 to revise any decision where it appears to her that the Appeals Officer’s decision was erroneous by reason of some mistake having been made in relation to the law or the facts.

The average processing time for appeals decided under Section 318 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 during the period 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023 was 10.4 weeks. I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that some requests for review under section 318 may take significantly longer to finalise due to the complexity of the case and the contentions raised.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.