The processing of appeals for the Carer's Allowance has increased from 12.5 weeks to nearly 17 weeks, while the processing of Disability Allowance appeals has gone from 12.4 to 16 weeks.
New figures reveal that the average time to process a social protection appeal has jumped by nearly 11 weeks since 2021, rising from 12.9 weeks to 23.5 weeks as of December 2024.
The biggest delays are seen in the Working Family Payment, where the average wait has shot up by over 251%, from 14 weeks to more than 49 weeks.
Other payments facing significant delays include the One Parent Family Payment, now taking 34.7 weeks, up from 22.4 weeks.
The processing of appeals for the Carer's Allowance has increased from 12.5 weeks to nearly 17 weeks, while the processing of Disability Allowance appeals has gone from 12.4 to 16 weeks.
Kildare South Labour TD Mark Wall has accused the Department of Social Protection of "losing control".
He said families, lone parents, carers, and people with disabilities cannot afford these delays.
He said Social Protection Minister, Dara Calleary, "needs to get his department in order and get to grips with these spiralling waiting times".
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