Welfare appeals up 25 per cent

Some 18,000 decisions on social welfare entitlements were appealed last year, the highest level in 15 years.

The number of appeals “reflects to a very large degree the number of people claiming benefits,” Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said as she published the annual report of the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

The number of appeals received last year increased by over 25 per cent compared with 2007.

Almost half of the appeals were decided in favour of the person making the appeal, 39 per cent were disallowed and the rest were withdrawn.

It took on average almost six months (22 weeks) for an appeal to be completed. However, when some of the more protracted cases are excluded, this is reduced to 14 weeks, the Social Welfare Appeals Office said

In some 4,000 cases new evidence became available during the appeal and the decision was reviewed the social welfare officer who had made the original decision. Over half of the cases which were determined by appeals officers were by oral hearing.

Last year was “a very challenging year,” the director of the Social Welfare Appeals Office Brian Flynn said in his annual report.

He said 2008 was a “turning point” for the office due to a huge increase in social welfare claims. "We can expect our work to get a lot more difficult in terms of our workload before it will get better,” he added.