167 Deputy Olwyn Enright asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is satisfied that when a decision is made by the social welfare appeals office to recommend a person for an oral hearing that it is taking approximately 12 months from the date this person's appeal is first registered with her Department to hold an oral hearing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37009/10]

I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office there are currently 20,781 appeals being processed. There was a 46% increase in the number of appeals received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office in 2009 when compared to 2008, which in itself was 27% greater than the numbers received in 2007. There was an increase of a further 44% in the number of appeals received in the first eight months of 2010. These increases have caused delays in the processing of appeals.

It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal must be sought in each case. On the return of the papers and comments to the Social Welfare Appeals Office the case is referred to an Appeals Officer who will either make a decision summarily based on the documentary evidence or, if s/he considers it necessary, will list the case for oral hearing. Given the logistics involved in organising an oral hearing, a considerable period of time is added to the process.

In order to be fair to all appellants, the vetting of appeals and the arranging of oral hearings are being dealt with in chronological order. A number of initiatives have been put in place to enhance the capacity of the office to deal with the current caseload and inflows. In that regard 2 additional Appeals Officers were assigned to the Office in 2009, a number of additional staff were assigned to the administration area of the Office, the organisation of the Appeals Officer's work has been changed so as to increase productivity, a project to improve the business processes in the office was undertaken which has resulted in a number of improvements being implemented and significant enhancements have been made to the office's IT and phone systems.

In addition, it was decided to use experienced retired staff strictly on a short term basis to supplement the current resources and the services of eight retired officers have now been secured on a part-time basis and have been operating since July. I am assured by the Chief Appeals Officer that she is keeping current processes under continuous review with a view to achieving a more effective throughput of appeals, while ensuring that any progress does not conflict with due process in terms of the rights of appellants and adherence to the requirements of natural justice.