Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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948. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 291 of 28 May 2025, for an explanation of the numbers contained in the table; how the number of claims awarded and rejected each year exceeds the number of claims registered; whether there was a change in resources in 2021 that caused a rise in the average time to award; the reason it increased again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30345/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Carer’s Allowance is a statutory, means-tested payment which provides an income support for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention. The carer must also satisfy a means test and be habitually resident in the State.

Processing times vary due to a number of factors. Schemes that require a high level of evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness-related schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested payments can also require more detailed interactions with the customer, thereby lengthening the decision-making process. In general, social welfare schemes with a number of complex qualifying conditions can take longer to process. In some cases the documentary evidence provided at initial application stage is incomplete or insufficient and this can lead to delays in processing.

To qualify for Carer’s Allowance, the carer must show that they are habitually resident in the State, that they are providing full-time care and attention to a person who requires this level of care, and that their means are less than the statutory limit. Applicants are advised to provide as much detail as possible at application stage, including any additional information or documentary evidence that is relevant, medical, or otherwise, to ensure that all information is available for consideration in the decision and assessment process. Where any scheme area experiences delays, all possible steps are 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.

At the end of January 2020, the average time to award a new Carer’s Allowance claim was 16 weeks. A review of business processes identified opportunities to implement a number of improvements and efficiencies. Additional resources were applied to claim processing to reduce delays. The position is continuously monitored and kept under review by the Department to ensure that Carer’s Allowance applications are dealt with promptly. While the number of claims registered increased by 21% between the years 2020 and 2023, there was a net reduction in the average time to award a new Carer’s Allowance claim from 16 weeks at the beginning of 2020 to 7 weeks at the end of that year and to 6 weeks at the end of 2023.

The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the on-going need to respond to new increasing demands in a wide range of services. This is to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department.

Please note that 'claims awarded' and 'claims rejected' refer to the total number of claims awarded or rejected in each period, and includes claim decisions in respect of claims registered in previous periods as well as those overturned on review or appeal of the initial decision. For these reasons the number of claims awarded and rejected each year exceeds the number of claims registered in the given year.