This is a subscriber-only article
Appeals on Farm Assist payments have a waiting time of almost 48 weeks, according to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty.
Farm Assist payments are means tested social welfare payments and up to 7,300 farmers were in receipt of weekly payments in 2017.
The highest number of payments go to farmers in the west of Ireland, with Mayo accounting for 1,156 of recipient numbers.
The information in regard to appeal waiting times came to light in response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD John Brassil.
Almost double the average waiting time
The average waiting time for an oral hearing for an appeal is 26.4 weeks in comparison with the 47.8 week wait time expected for Farm Assist appeals.
“Further steps are being taken to address these processing times by deploying additional resources to the appeals office,” Minister Doherty said.
“However, the complexity of the appeals process means takes some time for new staff to be trained up and develop expertise.”
She added that if a claimant had been refused a social welfare payment, it was up to them to apply for additional “supplementary welfare allowance in the interim”.
Farm Assist payments were increased by €5/week in Budget 2019, which means recipients should receive €203/week from March this year.
SHARING OPTIONS: