Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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1404.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for a breakdown of the average wait time for a decision on an appeal, for each social welfare payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33589/24]

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 average waiting time for an appeal in 2023 was 16 weeks.

The Annual Report of the Chief Appeals Officer is published each year and shows processing times for each scheme to a detailed level. The report for 2023 is currently being finalised and will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas very shortly.

An Appeals Modernisation Project is currently underway and a new appeals IT system supporting business processes was introduced in November 2023. The second phase, including the introduction of an online appeals application process on the MyWelfare platform, will be implemented shortly. The new system has already significantly reduced the time taken to register and acknowledge appeals received and will, in time, have a positive impact on the overall average processing times. A number of internal initiatives are also being undertaken under the direction of the Chief Appeals Officer to improve the efficiency of processes within the Office.

There is active engagement between the Appeals Office and my Department to ensure that the appeals process operates as efficiently as possible and, where the Deciding Officer's decision is not revised in favour of the appellant, the relevant files are provided as promptly as possible for consideration by an Appeals Officer.