Written answers
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social Welfare Payments
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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585. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will outline the average processing time for applications under each payment scheme in his Department; and how this compares with the Department's own targets for processing times for each payment, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37526/25]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Officials in my Department regularly monitor and review the processing times for the schemes administered by the Department. The volume of claims received, the average processing time, the performance under the current target, and any operational changes are all considered when a decision is made to revise a target. Targets are reviewed each year as part of the Estimates process.
The average number of weeks to award is outlined below in the table. The table also outlines the target percentage along with the measurement duration compared directly to actual recorded processing times. An example is the 90% target of contributory State Pension recipients’ application should be awarded by date of entitlement. For May 2025, 96% applicants were complete by date of entitlement.
| Scheme | Total Recipients | Average Weeks to Award | Target | Measure | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Pension (Contributory) - Irish | 539,280 | 3 | 90% | By date of entitlement | 96% |
| State Pension (Non-Contributory) | 99,340 | 10 | 75% | In 11 Weeks | 81% |
| Widow(er)'s Contributory Pension | 126,758 | 3 | 90% | In 6 Weeks | 91% |
| Jobseeker's Allowance | 102,678 | 2 | 90% | In 6 Weeks | 97% |
| Jobseeker's Benefit | 32,889 | 1 | 90% | In 3 Weeks | 93% |
| Pay Related Benefit | 5,025 | 1 | 90% | In 1 Weeks | 97% |
| One-Parent Family Payment | 43,643 | 2 | 90% | In 10 Weeks | 98% |
| Supplementary Welfare Allowance Basic | 10,201 | 1 | 90% | In 1 Week | 88% |
| Maternity Benefit | 18,430 | 6 | 90% | By due date | 94% |
| Paternity Benefit | 619 | 6 | 90% | By Commencement of leave | 88% |
| Parent's Benefit | 7,046 | 1 | 90% | By Commencement of leave | 88% |
| Carer's Allowance | 99,450 | 6 | 80% | In 10 Weeks | 95% |
| Carer's Benefit | 4,310 | 5 | 90% | In 10 weeks | 96% |
| Disability Allowance | 169,152 | 6 | 75% | In 10 Weeks | 93% |
| Invalidity Pension | 55,399 | 6 | 90% | In 10 Weeks | 94% |
| Illness Benefit | 50,802 | 1 | 90% | In 1 week | 93% |
| Occupational Injury Benefit | 501 | 1 | 90% | In 1 week | 76% |
| Domiciliary Care Allowance | 58,809 | 5 | 90% | In 9 Weeks | 93% |
| Child Benefit (Dom & FRA) | 677,791 | 1 | 90% | In 4 Weeks | 59% |
| Working Family Payment | 48,765 | 9 | 90% | In 6 Weeks | 5% |
| Household Benefits | 539,176 | 1 | 90% | In 4 Weeks | 99% |
| Free Travel | 1,130,426 | N/Avail | 90% | In 2 Weeks | 96% |
The target on all the Department schemes are met and exceeded except for Working Family Payment. This scheme is the focus of my attention and that of senior management within the Department. My officials are currently exploring and considering different options to seek to improve the processing times for the Working Family Payment.
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