Castlepollard faces twice average wait for benefits

The average waiting time for those signing on for Jobseekers' Allowance at the Castlepollard office was 17 weeks last month. The Department of family and Social Affairs said that the national average for the benefit was just over seven weeks.Job Seekers' Allowance is distinct from Job Seekers' Benefit in that claimants are applying for social assistance rather than drawing on PRSI contributions. These long waits will have most effect on school leavers and all those without the required five years' PRSI.The average wait for Job Seekers' Benefit in Castlepollard is also three weeks higher than the national average of a month.The Mullingar office also recorded higher waiting times than the national average and applicants are currently experiencing an 11-week delay in receiving the allowance and just over five weeks for the benefit.But according to one claimant who contacted the Examiner this week waiting times can be significantly higher and he has been eight weeks to date with no benefit. The man who had previously been working in the UK said that he was unsure how much longer he would have to wait before payments began.In response to this the department said yesterday that "more complicated" cases would indeed take longer to process.A spokesman also said that while it had taken a number of initiatives to speed up processing claims, the sheer volume of numbers signing on meant that some delays were inevitable."Through providing extra staff and improving how claims are processed, the Department is continually ensuring that the processing of claims is as efficient as it can be," said the spokesman."While processing times are still too long in some areas, backlogs of outstanding claims are being assigned to one of the new central decisions units."Anyone who is under financial pressure while awaiting a decision on their claim for a Jobseeker's payment can apply to their local health centre for Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) which is subject to a means test and qualifying conditions," he said.