Over 2,250 people await processing of benefit appeals

More than 2,250 people have been left waiting longer than a year to have their appeals for social welfare benefits processed.

Fianna Fáil has claimed people are having benefits “suddenly and inexplicably” removed and when they appeal, they have to wait “months on end” to hear back from the Department of Social Protection.

New figures from the department show thousands of full-time carers, people with disabilities, people with long-term illness, and others have been waiting at least a year to have their appeals for state support dealt with.

Almost 22,000 people are on waiting lists to have their appeals heard for a range of benefits, while almost 900 people are waiting between ten and 12 months.

The longest delays are for the Disability Allowance, with 4,169 people still waiting to have their appeals heard. Some 2,513 of these have been waiting for more than 4 months, and 321 are waiting for over a year.

There are 1,635 people waiting to have their appeals for the Carer’s Allowance processed, with more than 900 of these waiting for over 4 months and 113 people waiting for over a year.

Fianna Fáil said the “protracted delays” are “hitting the most vulnerable people across the country.”

The party’s spokesperson on jobs, Dara Calleary, obtained the figures in a written response to a parliamentary question to Joan Burton, the social protection minister.

Mr Calleary questioned whether the days were a “cynical attempt” to cuts costs and cover a budget deficit.

“If there is any truth to this whatsoever, seeking to penalise the most vulnerable in this way would amount to the utmost cruelty,” he said.

Some 13 people are awaiting an appeal of the removal of their blind pension. Nine months is the longest they have had to wait. Two people have been waiting between seven and nine months to have their appeals for maternity benefit heard — almost the full period of entitlement to the payment.

There are 62 people waiting more than a year to have appeals processed for their claim to the State pension.

Mr Calleary said: “This situation is particularly worrying coming into the winter period. It has caused enormous hardship for thousands of people across the country.”

His party is calling on Ms Burton to reassign more staff to the appeals office in order to clear this backlog “as a matter of priority”.

The department said it has appointed 15 new appeals officers since 2010 and moved a further 10 staff over from the HSE.

It said the chief appeals officer “is keeping the methods of operation by which the Social Welfare Appeals Office conducts its business under constant review” and “the processes are continuously being enhanced to reduce the backlogs.”