Naughten slams FIS applications backlog

Roscommon TD Denis Naughten has highlighted the plight of low income working families who may have to wait months for a decision on their Family Income Supplement (FIS) application. "In the last ten days I have been inundated with complaints from struggling families throughout the country who are relying on the approval of their social welfare top up payment, to meet Christmas bills," the Independent TD said. "In one instance a constituent with a young family applied on July 15 last for family income supplement and was told that the application will be processed before April 2013. This is just not good enough" complained Deputy Naughten, saying that low income working families are in desperate need of this top-up payment before Christmas, who will now be left waiting for a payment until sometime next year. "The Department of Social Protection has decided to shelve all applications received before November 5, and only deal with renewal applications submitted in the last five months after they have processed applications/renewals submitted since November 5." Denis Naughten described the decision as nothing more than a money lenders charter, especially for the 8,000 families who had their payment suspended, pending an annual review, up to 5 months ago. These families are left with the stark choice of giving up work to access full social welfare payments or forced to access funds pending the payment of 6/8 months arrears, at interest rates of 180% to 300% from both licensed and unlicensed money lenders. The Family Income Supplement is effectively a top-up payment designed to assist families in getting off the dole by taking up low income work. "Not only will this have an enormous impact on the families involved, but it also represents a significant failing on the part of the government when looked at in terms of their policies towards low and middle income households," he continued. "On one hand the Government say they are encouraging those on the dole to find work, but when they do, they are faced with this bureaucratic barrier of the Government's own making. Really, it is no wonder that we have employers saying they cannot find anyone to fill certain posts when we have such delays in the processing of a vital supplemental support payments, to help people make it pay to go to work." "The frustrating thing for staff processing the claims is that they are doing their utmost to deal with applications in a sensitive and expeditious manner, but the rules governing the scheme and the lack of adequate staff resource issues need to be urgently addressed to deal with the backlog of some 15,000 cases," Deputy Naughten stated, concluding that over the last two years delays in processing new applications has steadily increased to its present four and half month delay, but in the last year the delay in processing renewal applications has shot up from nine weeks to the present delay of five months.