The Appeals System

The officials who make decisions about your claim at the Department of Social Protection (DSP) are known as ‘Deciding Officers’ (DO) or ‘Designated Persons’ (DP). If you have received a decision from Department of Social Protection that you think is incorrect you have a number of options in seeking to address and resolve the problem or issue.

Appeals – Review of a Decision

You have the right to ask the Deciding Officer / Designated Person to review their original decision, and receive a fair and unbiased review, if:

• You have new or additional information which was not available to you or the Deciding Officer / Designated Person at the time of the original decision, which if had been available at the time of the original decision you feel may have resulted in a different decision.

• The stated interpretation of the facts or information you provided which are contained in the Deciding Officer’s / Designated Person’s decision are subjectively incorrect and need clarification.

• There has been a relevant change in your circumstances.

• The decision of the Deciding Officer / Designated Person is factually incorrect or inaccurate based on a point of fact or law.

The Deciding Officers must adhere to Departmental guidelines and to legislation when making a decision on your claim. They must also act in a manner which applies due process, natural justice and fair procedure in reviewing the original decision.

Copies of the Department’s guidelines are available on the Department's website www.gov.ie/welfare in the Freedom of Information section. Where appropriate, you should always ask the original Deciding Officer / Designated Person to review their decision before making an appeal. If the review process is unsuccessful you may wish to make a formal appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

Note: If your Social Welfare payment has been stopped or suspended by a Deciding Officer and you have requested a review of their original decision, you may be entitled to claim a Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) payment from the Department of Social Protection’s Designated Person (formerly known as a Community Welfare Officer, CWO).

You are not automatically entitled to a Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) payment and each case is assessed on an individual basis. The type of payment and amount you receive will depend on your individual circumstances. There are certain circumstances under which you may qualify for a weekly means-tested payment to support you and your family and/or continued support of payment for Rent Supplement.

Appeals – Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO)

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. It aims to provide an independent, accessible and fair appeals service with regard to entitlement to social welfare payments and to deliver that service in a prompt and courteous manner. It was established to provide an appeals service to persons who think they have received a decision which is incorrect from:

Deciding Officers of the Department of Social Protection on questions relating to entitlement to Social Welfare payments and insurability of employment under the Social Welfare Acts, and Department of Social Protection Designated Persons, formerly known as Community Welfare Officers (CWO), on questions relating to entitlement to certain Supplementary Welfare Allowance payments. The Office is headed by a Chief Appeals Officer. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions and will look at your claim to determine if you qualify for a payment in accordance with the legislation. Appeals Officers must decide cases in accordance with Social Welfare Legislation, as applied to the facts before them in each individual case.

Appeals – Payment while Appealing a Decision

If you have lodged an appeal and you are waiting for a hearing, or a decision, from the Social Welfare Appeals Office you may be entitled to claim a Basic Weekly payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme from the Department of Social Protection. The type of payment and amount you receive will depend on your individual circumstances. You may qualify for a weekly means tested payment to support you and your family and / or continued support of payment for Rent Supplement.

Appeals – Refused SWA pending Appeal

If you are refused a Basic Weekly payment under the SWA scheme pending the processing or outcome of your appeal and you believe that such refusal is incorrect in accordance with the terms of the SWA scheme you should:

• Ask for the decision in writing, you are entitled to receive this.

• Submit a request, in writing, to the Department of Social Protection asking for a review of their original decision based on all the relevant information and facts available.

• If your request for a review is refused or if the review is unsuccessful, you may be able to lodge an appeal with the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

• If you lodge an appeal with the Social Welfare Appeals Office you can make a request for a Basic Weekly payment under the SWA scheme pending the outcome of your appeal. There is no automatic entitlement to a Basic Weekly SWA payment whilst awaiting the outcome of an appeal decision.

• Any such application can be refused unless new evidence is presented in support of any ‘new’ SWA application.

• If you do not qualify for a Basic Weekly payment, you can apply for an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) from the Department.

• If you are refused a payment, your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant may be able to make a claim for themselves and any qualified children in their own right.

Appeals – Additional Needs Payments (ANP)

If you are awaiting the processing or outcome of an appeal with the Social Welfare Appeals Office and you have insufficient income to meet your needs, you can apply for an SWA Additional Needs Payment (ANP) from the Department.

An Additional Needs Payment (ANP) can be a once-off payment to meet an unforeseen or special need that cannot be met from a person’s basic income.

Assistance in the form of an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) can also be made to persons who would not normally be entitled to SWA, to assist, for example in cases of flood damage, with immediate needs such as food, clothing, fuel, household goods and perhaps shelter. Depending on your circumstances, for example where you are working full time or when an insurance claim has been settled, you may have to pay some or all of this back at a later date.

If you have been refused an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) or any other "once off" payment, these are not appealable to Social Welfare Office. If you wish to have any decision on these reviewed, you should request a review of the Designated Person’s decision by a "Review Officer" of the Department of Social Protection.

Appeals – How to make an Appeal

Social Welfare Appeals forms are available from your local Intreo Centre, or online on the www.gov.ie website. You should complete the appeal form fully and if you want an oral hearing of your appeal, you should include this request on the appeal form stating why you consider your case requires / would benefit from an oral hearing.

Although an oral hearing may be requested it is up to the Appeals Officer to decide whether to grant such a request as Appeals Officers may make a summary decision on your claim based on the documentary evidence on file.

You may also request / be provided with a ‘remote’ hearing which is conducted by telephone or online. A remote hearing allows you to engage with the Social Welfare Appeals Officer and provide information / discuss details in person in support of your appeal.

If you have requested a review of a decision directly with a specific scheme area / section, you do not need to wait for the outcome of that review to submit an appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. A request for a review and an appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office are separate requests.

Appeals – Practical Steps in making your Appeal

If possible, contact the INOU or Citizens Information for assistance before you lodge your appeal.

You must make your appeal within 21 days of receiving the Department of Social Protection decision. If you fail to do this, without requesting an extension from the Social Welfare Appeals Office, your appeal may be refused on the grounds that you have failed to submit your appeal within the 21 day time limit.

If you intend to request a copy of your Social Welfare file from the Department of Social Protection in support of your appeal, you should advise the Social Welfare Appeals Office. Receiving a copy of your Social Welfare file can take up to 30 days and failure to advise the Appeals Office of a possible delay over the 21 day time limit could cause your appeal to be refused.

You can ask for your appeal to be held as an oral hearing, this is done by simply writing ‘I wish to have my appeal held as an oral hearing...’ and stating why you consider your case either requires or would benefit from an oral hearing. There is no automatic entitlement / absolute right to an oral hearing and a request for an oral hearing will not be given in all cases.

If you are seeking the support of any organisation, group or legal advisor you should inform the Social Welfare Appeals Office withing the 21 day time limit and request that the time limit on your appeal be extended to provide for opportunity to consult with them and to allow them sufficient time to review all information in supporting the submission of your appeal.

When going to an oral hearing, you may be accompanied at the hearing by a member of your family, or, with the consent of the Appeals Officer, by any other person who will assist you with your appeal or represent you at the oral hearing. You are free to bring legal representation if you wish, but this is not a requirement, and you may incur costs. The Social Welfare Appeals Office does not pay any legal costs you may incur.

Collect all evidence supporting your appeal and, where relevant, bring witnesses who can provide evidence.

You should always keep copies of all the correspondence you have from the Department and the Appeals Office – especially the original appeals form.

You should request a copy of your Social Welfare file, and all the documentation relating to your case, from the Intreo Centre / Branch Office that dealt with your claim. Ask for this in writing under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) when making the request. You are legally entitled to any information the Department has used in deciding your case.

You should meet with your representative / advisor regularly to review and update your case. Write down everything that appears relevant. Get as much supporting evidence or material as possible – the more prepared you are for the appeal the better chance you have of winning it.

The Appeals Officer will make a determination in relation to the appeal following his or her consideration of the appeal, including evidence given at any oral hearing, if applicable.

The decision of the Appeals Officer will be provided in writing and, where the decision is not in favour of the appellant, will explain the reasons for the decision.

If new evidence becomes available after the appeal, and this evidence relates to any facts, details or information in relation to the period which was under appeal, or if there has been a relevant change of circumstances since the decision was given, you can ask for the case to be reviewed.

If you lose your appeal, you can still apply for the same payment in the future if your circumstances have changed since the original decision.

If the appeal is unsuccessful, you may ask the Chief Appeals Officer to review the case, but only if the Appeals Officer has made an error with regard to the law or the facts. Any request should be in writing and should specify in what way the Appeals Officer has erred in law or fact.

If your request for a review by the Chief Appeals Officers is unsuccessful, or if any review carried out by the Chief Appeals Officer is unsuccessful, you may be able to make a formal complaint to the Office of Ombudsman

Note: You will not be able to take up a place on a CE scheme, Community Services Programme, Back to Education Allowance or other schemes while your claim is under appeal.