Limerick waiting times?

topdog86

Hi guys,

I applied for Jobseekers benefit on July 8th. However due to a difficulty in getting a form from my college it was three weeks ago to the day that I finally got all my documents in. I went into the office to enquire about my claim and all they told me was that 'my payment was with the supervisor'.

Are the claims only dealt with when all documents are submitted or do they progress your claim from the day you go into them? In essence what im asking I guess is have I been waiting 2 months or three weeks?? I'm very anxious and stressed to get this money as I desperately need it. I know I can go to the community welfare officer but I need my backpayment as I owe some of it and I'm very very concerned at how long this is all taking. Just to clarify, I applied in Limerick City.

Thanks

cee_jay

Limerick currently has waiting times of approx 8-12 weeks.
They are awarded in date order of when you applied.
If you are stuck for money go to the CWO - you could be waiting a while yet.

IT Loser

You should move to Wicklow. They have a new gag up here, they approve you and then disapprove you in the same day.:mad:

Job Seekers Benefit is processed faster than Allowance, thats for sure.

stupidusername

cAr0l wrote: »

Limerick currently has waiting times of approx 8-12 weeks.
They are awarded in date order of when you applied.
If you are stuck for money go to the CWO - you could be waiting a while yet.

I'm in limerick, I applied at the start of June, received mine 5 weeks later. Though I applied for SWA so don't know but that might have had something to do with speeding it up. or it might have been that my case was probably quite straight forward (no kids, no stamps, no loans etc). Some people say it's the SWA. You should apply for it anyway if you really need the money. Although going to the Roxtown centre is quite annoying as there's only certain times the person you need to see will be there.

topdog86

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Its getting quite frustrating at this point. There doesn't seem to be any details as to when the welfare officer opens and I've tried ringing ALOT.

I went into the office today and was told my payment is with the 'deciding officer'...is this good, bad or routine? How long after its with the deciding officer do I have to wait? :-/

It's seriously getting me down now as I'm a patient person but nine weeks is ridiculous, the sooner I find a job the better :-(

Lamps

Your claim wont be dealt with until all the docs are in in most cases. otherwise its wasting a deciding officers time going through claims dont have all the documents in, so usually they sit in a box until all neccessary dosc are in, and as soon as all the docs are in it usually joins the queue that day.

If its JB it should be 4-5 weeks from when you left the college letter in, if JA a little longer and if you go to the community welfare officer it will be a much longer time before you get your payments from the SW.

dumbblonde122

you will prob be waiting roughly twelve weeks. I am in Limerick too and I applied for mine in Jan and did not receive same until April. All claims are processed through a deciding officer hence you go to decisions side when going into the Labour.

Go down to your local health office to find out when the Community Welfare Officer is around as they will give you a Form to fill in to give to the CWO. Also give CWO rest of your P45, ID and proof of address

cee_jay

stupidusername wrote: »

I'm in limerick, I applied at the start of June, received mine 5 weeks later. Though I applied for SWA so don't know but that might have had something to do with speeding it up. or it might have been that my case was probably quite straight forward (no kids, no stamps, no loans etc). Some people say it's the SWA. You should apply for it anyway if you really need the money. Although going to the Roxtown centre is quite annoying as there's only certain times the person you need to see will be there.

You were lucky - nothing to do with the SWA, all to do with how straight forward your claim was probably. I know in Cork straight forward JB claims that have all their documents etc in are fast tracked, and they have a certain number of deciding officers awarding those claims.

Topdog86, Limerick Office is open Monday - Friday 9:30am - 4pm, closes at 2pm on Thursday.

IT Loser

Lamps wrote: »

Your claim wont be dealt with until all the docs are in in most cases. otherwise its wasting a deciding officers time going through claims dont have all the documents in, so usually they sit in a box until all neccessary dosc are in, and as soon as all the docs are in it usually joins the queue that day.

If its JB it should be 4-5 weeks from when you left the college letter in, if JA a little longer and if you go to the community welfare officer it will be a much longer time before you get your payments from the SW.

Thats a vital point for people to realise: until you have everything down pat, you get nothing done with the Dept. They put incompleted applications in a box and they can stay there till the end of time- until the applicant comes forward with all off the relevant documentation, nothing is done. I once went in for Benefit, without my P45, and I got absolutely nowhere.

topdog86

Thanks for the feedback.

I have 2 job interviews next week so I hope it comes through before then! I went to the welfare officer and he asked for more documentation than my original claim with the social welfare office!, he also said it would take upto two weeks to get the emergency money. :mad:

I feel strangled by red tape. I rang the social welfare office again and the man on the phone expressed suprise my claim hadn't gone through already. He again said it was with the deciding officer. Does anyone know how long it stays with the deciding officer for??? I really hope its not going to take another 2-3 weeks. I feel like ill never see money again

Xiney

Good luck with the job interviews.

All the bureaucracy is difficult enough to get the head around alright, but that's the beauty of forums like this one... while they're not official answers, you can get a better idea of what you should do.

topdog86

Hey guys,

Just an update for any of you living in Limerick and waiting. A really nice, accommodating woman in the social welfare office informed me today that they are currently paying out claims made in the last week of June. I applied on the 8th of July so she said I could be waiting two more weeks but it does put my mind at ease somewhat there were no problems and that it is just a backlog problem. I presume next week they'll be moving onto paying out the first week of July so I have a fortnight left to wait. She said because of Dell etc. Limerick waiting times are one of the longest in the country.

Hope this helps.