‘Vulnerable people paying price' alert as social welfare appeal wait times for key group skyrocket amid €625 shake-up

The Irish Sun

5 days ago

IRELAND'S most vulnerable people are paying the price for a botched social welfare system, it's been claimed, as people are waiting weeks for their carer's allowance appeal outcome.
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Carer's allowance appeals are being granted more frequently according to new figures
Credit: Getty
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A new boost to the payment will come in July
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The Carer's Allowance is a weekly social
It's a means-tested payment given to the primary carer for each person being cared for.
An appeal can be made if someone's claim to the allowance is not granted.
And figures show that there has been a 33.73 per cent increase in the waiting times for those who have appealed the initial decision.
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It means that, should someone's claim to the welfare be rejected on first application, they could be waiting up to 23 weeks to get a second opinion.
And as the wait times increase, so too do the number of appeals which are granted.
O'Reilly said: "While appeal waiting times are increasing, appeal success rates are also increasing.
"In 2024, a third of all those who appealed their application for
'We have a system that forces our society's most vulnerable through an arduous administrative process that is onerous, alienating, humiliating and pushes them further into poverty.
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"Many give up along the way, or do not realise that if they just appeal the same application that was rejected they have a very good chance of acceptance."
PUSHED INTO POVERTY
The
"Those waiting for a decision on their appeal have reported forgoing to see a
'A shocking proportion of respondents report going into debt while waiting for social welfare income payments.
'While the Minister for Social Protection may have hired more staff to act as deciding officers, these figures show that this strategy alone is not sufficient.
PAYING THE PRICE
"I encourage the department to be transparent and share its protocols and circulars used to instruct deciding officers.
'These issues run deeper than staff shortages.
There is a clear issue with the department's management culture, and Ireland's most vulnerable people are paying the price.'
O'Reilly's claims have come just weeks after a major
INCOME DISREGARD
Minister for Social Protection
It means that a certain amount of a person's earning will not be taken into account when they apply for social welfare payments.
The income disregard means that Carer's Allowance will be increased from €450 to €625 for each individual person being cared for.
And it will be upped from €900 to €1,250 for a person with a spouse or partner.
He said: "The income disregards for carers are already the most generous in the social welfare system and are being further improved.
"This July, the weekly income disregard will increase further from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner.
"This means that a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €69,000 will still retain their full carer's payment and even with an income of €97,000 will retain a partial payment."
He added: "Means tests are used within the social welfare system to target the support to those most in need in a manner that is progressive in terms of income distribution.
He added: "There are currently 99,256 people in receipt of carer's allowance, which accounts for €1.24 billion of my Department's budget."
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Louise O'Reilly claimed the most vulnerable are paying the price for the wait times
Credit: Getty