The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.
I have been advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that appeals are not accepted unless the notice of appeal sets out the facts and contentions that are the basis for making the appeal.
Legislative provisions in relation to the appeals procedure and giving notice of appeal is set out in S.I. 108/1998: Social Welfare (Appeals) Regulations, 1998. Article 9(4) states that "The notice of appeal shall contain a statement of the facts and contentions upon which the appellant intends to rely."
Where the facts and contentions are not provided, the Office writes to the person to clarify the basis of the appeal and ask for the information required.
No statistics of the nature requested by the Deputy are maintained.
To assist customers in making appeals, a notice of appeal form is available at www.gov.ie. The form may be downloaded, completed and emailed to the Office or alternatively may be printed, completed and posted to the Office. Parts 5 and 6 of the form clearly guides the person to provide the grounds for the appeal and provide supporting documents. Information on what an appeal should include is also available on the website.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
