Social welfare appeal statistics
Harte sought appeal-upheld rates across several benefit types and hearing procedures. Hussey said records did not provide all requested figures and offered available 1980 statistics.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the percentage of the appeals in respect of the following which were upheld at the latest date for which figures are available: (i) unemployment benefit/assistance, (ii) disability benefit, (iii) occupational injuries benefit, (iv) deserted wife's benefit/allowance and (v) contributory and non-contributory old age pensions; the percentage of appeals in respect of unemployment benefit/assistance which were held in the absence of one or more of the assessors; the percentage of appeals heard without an oral hearing; the percentage of such appeals upheld at the latest date for which figures are available; and the percentage of claimants represented and the percentage of such appeals upheld.
Comment on this
Records are not kept in such a manner as would enable all of the information sought by the Deputy to be given. The information available is set out in the following statement and relates to the calendar year 1980. As the statement contains an amount of statistical material, I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.
The statement is:
Statistics relating to non-contributory old age pension appeals are not available. The primary decisions in these cases are given by old age pension committees and not by deciding officers of the Department. The vast majority of appeals are made by social welfare officers, who investigated the claims to pension in the first instance, against the decisions of pension committees awarding pension at rates considered inappropriate having regard to the means of the pension claimant.
Assessors are invited to all oral hearings relating to unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance. Records are not kept, however, of the number of occasions on which one or more of the assessors failed to attend.
Records of appeals which involved oral hearings are available in relation to disability benefit and occupational injuries benefit only. The percentage of appeals in relation to these benefits held without oral hearings and the percentage of such appeals allowed are:
Records are not kept of the numbers of appeals in which claimants were represented.
22.