Social Protection | The extent, if any, to which time taken to determine appeals can be improved

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent, if any, to which time taken to determine appeals can be improved; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

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.

Significant efforts and resources have been devoted to reforming and streamlining the appeal process in recent years. A modernisation project is currently underway to develop and implement a new appeals business process and IT system.  This project aims to provide an enhanced and responsive appeals service for customers.  A new IT system was introduced on the 6th of November 2023. The next phase of the system, which will be implemented in Quarter 3 2024, will provide functionality on the My Welfare platform for making appeals online.

The new system has already significantly reduced the time taken to register and acknowledge appeals lodged with the Appeals Office and in time will reduce the overall average processing times.  Additional staff are being temporarily assigned to the office to assist with the registration of outstanding appeals.

The Chief Appeals Officer continues to monitor processing times and every effort is made to reduce the time taken to process an appeal.  There is active engagement between the Appeals Office and the Department to ensure that the appeals process operates efficiently and that where the Deciding Officer’s decision is not revised in favour of the appellant that the appeal file is provided as quickly as possible to the Appeals Office for consideration by an Appeals Officer.

However, the drive for efficiency must be balanced with the competing demand to ensure that decisions are consistent and of high quality and made in accordance with the requirements set out in primary legislation and in regulations and the general principles of fair procedures and natural justice.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.