Social Welfare Benefits
Dail Éireann — 2023-10-24
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Seán Canney (IND), Galway East

I thank the Minister. I accept that all of the budgetary measures have been put in place. I refer, however, to the time it takes for carer's allowance applications to be processed. This is a very acute issue for somebody who gives up work to care for someone at home. This might happen suddenly if there is no other choice, especially when a member of the family is experiencing depression and the carer has to be with him or her full time. Carers are often asked to apply for supplementary welfare while they are waiting for a decision. I have seen cases where the whole process, from application through to review and appeal, has taken 25 or 26 weeks. I assume that where an appeal is successful, the applicant is paid from the date of the application. However, there are people living under very serious financial constraints while they are waiting for a decision. They may have no choice but to give up work or to cut back on their work hours to provide care and they then rely on a process that seems to be very slow.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:19+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-10-24