Social Welfare Appeals Dail Éireann — 2026-06-18 ============================================================ Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo We have the online option. The average time to award a payment in 2026 to date has been seven weeks. The target is nine. We have also put a fast-track system in place between our medical assessors and my officials to ensure that all medical issues are expedited. I am trying to take all the blockages out of the application system. In response to the work of Deputies O'Reilly and Wall, who have consistently raised this, often outside the Chamber as well, we are keeping a very sharp focus on delays in the appeals. We have to strike a balance between getting the full information to make an informed decision efficiently and effectively. I have asked my officials to remember at all times the day-to-day experiences of the parents and guardians applying for it and of the children in particular. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-18/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:51+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-18