Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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105. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average processing times for social welfare appeals for each social welfare scheme; the number of successful appeals granted, over the past four years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33123/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions. In 2023 the average processing time for Social Welfare Appeals was 16 weeks and 11,075 appeals were successful.In 2022 the average processing time for Social Welfare Appeals was 14.9 weeks and 12,654 appeals were successful.In 2021 the average processing time for Social Welfare Appeals was 12.9 weeks with 13,104 appeals were successful. The average processing times for each Social Welfare scheme and the number of successful appeals can be viewed in previous Annual Reports published by the Social Welfare Appeals Office.The annual report for 2024 is just being finalised for presentation to Government. That report including the statistics for 2024 will be submitted to the Oireachtas library in the coming weeks. I can, however, advise that the performance did suffer in 2024 due to the impact of an increased volume of appeals (reflecting an underlying increase in claims to the Department generally), the work involved in implementing a new IT system (where staff had to be diverted to training etc.) and the increased ease of making an appeal online via that system.I am pleased to say that following on from measures taken by the Chief Appeals Officer performance is now improving and there has been a significant reduction in the number of appeals on hand. The measures taken include the appointment of 20 additional staff during December 2024 and January 2025. They have now been appointed as Appeals Officers and are making appeal decisions. The Chief Appeals Officer continues to monitor processing times and every effort is made to reduce the time taken to process an appeal. However, the drive for efficiency must be balanced with the competing demand to ensure that decisions are consistent and made in accordance with fair procedures and the provisions set out in primary legislation and regulations. The breakdown for each Social Welfare scheme requested by the Deputy in tabular form can be provided separately.