Backlog of 7,600 waiting for carer’s benefit to last ‘months’

More than 7,600 people who are seeking the carer’s allowance are awaiting a decision from the Department of Social Protection on their applications.

And it will, most likely, be a “significant number of months” before the backlog is reduced to an acceptable level.

According to the department, it is dealing with about 330 new applications every week. A new system to improve the efficiency of the scheme is being put in place, but it will be later in the year before it begins to clear the outstanding applications.