Pension Provisions
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-30
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

I can absolutely assure the Deputy that is not the policy and approach. As I said in my initial response, we are working continuously to improve the appeals process and are continuously investing in that process. We are also investing in the initial process in terms of medical assessment and knowledge. By introducing a new IT system, we have given people the capacity to make appeals online. They do not have to physically post applications; they can apply and exchange information online from the comfort of their own homes. We have also increased staffing in the appeals process office considerably.
As I want to reiterate, some 21,630 appeals were on hand at the end of December 2024, which we reduced to 7,470 by the end of March. More importantly, the processing times for appeals have reduced from 23 weeks in 2024 to nine and a half weeks today, in particular in the case of invalidity pension. I am very focused on appeals. I thank the appeals office, which is independent, for its work in this space. There is a specific issue with regard to the case raised by the Deputy, which we will discuss separately. I assure him that there is no policy to dissuade people from applying for any payment or making appeals.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-30