Social Protection | The extent to which any backlogs have been addressed in respect of various headings and payments operated by her Department

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which any backlogs have been addressed in respect of various headings and payments operated by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

My Department understands the many pressures faced by customers and always seeks to ensure that claims are handled quickly and efficiently.

The Deputy will 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 claim processing is up to date, with processing targets met, or exceeded, on average, for all the main scheme areas.  

The table below gives the average weeks to award for all main schemes as of April 2024.

Scheme	Average weeks to Award
State Pension (Contributory) – Irish	4
Widow(er)’s Contributory Pension	3
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	8
Jobseekers Allowance	2
Jobseekers Benefit	1
One-Parent Family Payment	4
Supplementary Welfare Allowance Basi	1
Maternity Benefit	6
Paternity Benefit	6
Parent’s Benefit	1
Carer’s Allowance	6
Carer’s Benefit	5
Disability Allowance	11
Invalidity Pension	7
Illness Benefit	1
Occupational Injury Benefit	1
Child Benefit (Dom & FRA)	1
Working Family Payment	9
Domiciliary Care Allowance	5
Household Benefits	1
Free Travel	9