Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the means by which he is enhancing application processes within his Department, and providing additional resources where necessary, to ensure that individuals receive decisions on their applications in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50711/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department understands the many pressures faced by customers and always seeks to ensure that claims are handled quickly and efficiently.

I am sure that the Deputy can appreciate how processing times can vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary 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 investigations and interaction with the customer, thereby lengthening the decision-making process.

My Department has introduced a wide range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology in recent years. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised.

In addition, the staffing needs of my Department are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources.

I am pleased to report that most claim processing is up to date, with processing targets met, or exceeded, on average, for all the main scheme areas.

My officials continually exploring and considering different options to seek to improve the processing times for those schemes that have not met their target.