I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue. I refer to the long period people have to wait for a social welfare appeal to be decided. As the Minister of State knows, this places huge stress on individuals and families who are waiting for decisions to be made. Invalidity pensions, domiciliary care allowance and carer's allowance are some of the applications subject to very lengthy appeal periods, as I know from my constituency office. As the Minister of State knows, anybody who applies for an invalidity pension is doing so because they are not fit to work on health grounds over a long-term period. Therefore, they need a decision as quickly as possible on their eligibility for the invalidity pension. People are applying for this payment because they need it, but in many cases it is taking up to eight, nine or even ten months for decisions to be made on appeals for applications. As we know full well, domiciliary care allowance is a payment to families where there is a child under 16 years of age with a severe disability. It is not a means-tested payment, but rather a payment based on the disability of the child. Again, the appeals period can be very lengthy. Unfortunately, this places huge stress on families while waiting for an appeal a decision on an appeal to be made. Similarly, in many cases of applications for the domiciliary care allowance and the care allowance, people in a household reduce their working hours and may have to give up work entirely in order to stay at home to care for a loved one. They need this payment very badly and, in many cases, urgently. Unfortunately, as I have said, an appeal can take up to eight or nine months in some cases. This is totally unacceptable. I am sure the Minister of State will agree it is unacceptable. There is a double standard here because when an applicant gets a decision on the initial application, there is a very tight window to make an appeal. It is quite a strict deadline and there is very little wriggle room for the applicant to surpass it. Yet, once the appeal goes into the system there appears to be an open-ended period for the Department to make a decision on an appeal. This double standard needs to be corrected. There needs to be a strict timeline for appeals to be dealt with. I recognise the Minister, Deputy Calleary, has tried to improve the situation. I am aware there is recruitment of additional staff to try to address the issue. This is very welcome but there should be a strict timeline for dealing with appeals. I do not think it is acceptable that people have to wait so long for decisions to come through. Whether or not they are approved, ultimately people should be informed of the decision within a reasonable timeframe. I sincerely hope the Minister of State will take back to the Department the message that decisions should be made within a reasonable timeframe to reduce the stress, anxiety and frustration of many individuals and families. Many Members of the House have heard about this through their constituency clinics and constituency offices. I thank the Minister of State again for being here and I sincerely hope she can take this message back loud and clear.

Sentiment score: 0.06

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I welcome some of the reply regarding some of the improvements already in train. I very much welcome that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, has met the appeals team and additional staff are now being employed, bringing the total number of staff to 64. This is certainly welcome. With regard to the new appeals regulations, there are positive changes in terms of the applicant having a longer period to make an appeal, and that it could potentially be up to 180 days, at the discretion of the appeals officer. These are welcome changes but they do not necessarily set a specific timeline for decision on an appeal. I know the Minister of State said there are statutory timelines for various stages of the appeal but, ultimately, people want to hear the final decision on whether an appeal is successful. The additional staff are welcome and I hope we will move to a point whereby appeals are decided within a reasonable timeframe. The average of 20 weeks is too high. Unfortunately it is an average, which necessarily means some take much longer than this. This means people are waiting for long periods for a decision to be made. I welcome the reply. Changes are afoot, which is welcome but this is an issue that must be continually kept under review so we can reduce the appeal period so that people can get decisions within a reasonable and proportionate timeframe.

Sentiment score: 0.38