John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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586. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of live social welfare appeals which have been waiting for a decision for one year or longer; if he can provide a breakdown by payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37527/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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 Chief Appeals Officer has put in place measures to deal with the increase in appeals received during 2024. 20 Appeals Officers were assigned during December 2024 and January 2025 and are making appeal decisions.

Appeals where customers may not have recourse to Supplementary Welfare Allowance or are particularly vulnerable are currently being prioritised.

This approach has resulted in the successful reduction of 1,431 Domiciliary Care Allowance appeals on hand at the 31st March 2025 to less than 529 at the 30th June 2025, the majority of which are appeals registered within the last 12 weeks. A similar process is now underway to address Carer's Allowance appeals.

Overall, 24,211 appeals have been processed at 30th June this year compared to 10,738 in the first six months of 2024. It is anticipated that this level of activity will have a significant impact on the number of older appeals on hands.

In addition, The Social Welfare Appeals Regulations 2024 (S.I. No. 744 of 2024) came into effect from Monday, 28 April 2025. The purpose of these updated regulations is to modernise and streamline the social welfare appeals process, providing greater clarity, improved consistency, and more defined timeframes. This is expected to reduce the number of appeals on hand and the length of time it takes for appeals to be processed and decided.

One of the key changes introduced under the new regulations is the time limit for lodging an appeal, which has increased from 21 to 60 days, with provision for the Chief Appeals Officer to accept late appeals up to 180 days in certain circumstances. This will allow customers a longer period to prepare their appeal and gather any additional documentation. A significant proportion of the current appeals processing time can be attributed to time taken by the customer to obtain and submit reports and documentation they wish to rely on.

The total number of social welfare appeals which have been waiting for a decision for one year is currently 1,176. The main schemes are outlined in the table below.

The Chief Appeals Officer continues to carefully monitor the number of appeals on hand and the appeal processing times, and every effort is being made to reduce the time taken to process an appeal.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.

John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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587. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will outline the number of oral hearings held by the Social Welfare Appeals Office in each of the years 2015 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37528/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office is a service 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.

When a case is assigned to an Appeals Officer, he or she will examine the documentary evidence presented and consider if the appeal can be properly and fairly decided on a summary basis. Where an oral hearing of the case is required, the appellant is generally given 2-3 weeks’ advance notice. At any time during this process, up to and including the oral hearing of the appeal, an appellant can submit additional information, which affords them the opportunity to strengthen their case. Oral hearings can be held virtually, in person or by phone.

The number of Oral Hearings held by the Social Welfare Appeals Office for each year from 2015 to 2024 are outlined in the following table.

There have been significant changes and technological advances across the Department and in the Appeals system over the period covered. This has allowed the Appeals Officer to adapt the manner in which appeals are finalised. Appellants now have the ability to easily transmit additional documentation and evidence to the Scheme Area or Appeals Office through the MyWelfare platform. This can mean that evidence that previously would not have been available to the Appeals Officer until an oral hearing can be provided earlier in the process and result in an Appeals Officer being able to decide a higher number of cases on a summary basis. The increasing ease with which an appellant can make contact and provide evidence prior to appeal has reduce the prevalence of “unresolved conflicts” and therefore allow for the increasing number of summary decisions.

There has also been an increase in the number of revised decisions made across Scheme Areas in the Department. These revised decisions mean that the appeal is finalised favourably for the appellant without the appeal having to be examined by an Appeals Officer. There is therefore no need for an oral hearing.

Under the Social Welfare Appeals Regulations 2024 (S.I. No. 744 of 2024) which were signed into law in December 2024 and came into effect from Monday, 28 April 2025 there is now a legal entitlement to request an oral hearing. While the Appeals Officer retains discretion on whether to hold a hearing, a refusal must now be accompanied by reasons, ensuring greater transparency.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.