FIANNA Fáil TD Willie O’Dea says he is inundated with people complaining about the long wait times for social welfare applications, particularly in relation to appeals.
In the Dáil, Deputy O’Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary for the average time to process an application for some of the main social protection payments; the average waiting time for a person who wishes to appeal a refusal; and the steps proposed to shorten these waiting times.
“I am inundated with people complaining about the long waiting times for many social welfare applications, particularly in relation to appeals,” he told the Minister.
The Limerick TD said he was told by the Social Protection Minister that the “Chief Appeals Officer has put in place measures to deal with the increase in appeals received during 2024”.
“20 additional staff have now been appointed as appeals officers and are making decisions on appeals. In addition, new appeals regulations have come into effect this month which provide, among other things, for simpler processes and specified response times. According to the Minister, these should further help to reduce processing times,” Deputy O’Dea said.
According to Minister Calleary, it takes an average of eight weeks to process an application for Carer’s Allowance, with an average appeals processing time of 21 weeks.
Deputy O’Dea was also told that the average processing time for a Disability Allowance application is six weeks, while an appeal can take an average of 22 weeks.
The Minister also explained that the average processing time of an Invalidity Pension application is four weeks, and 23 for an appeal. A One Parent Family application takes an average three weeks, and 21 for an appeals process.
“The time taken to process appeals reflects the need to consider each decision in detail and, in many cases, to examine additional information submitted at appeal stage and, in some cases, to seek further information by way of correspondence or oral hearing,” Minister Calleary told Deputy O’Dea.
“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 the provisions set out in primary legislation and regulations.”
