Around one in five appeals by social welfare recipients against decisions made about their claims were successful last year, with cases taking on average almost six months to process.
The annual report of the Social Welfare Appeals Office published today showed that 15,017 appeals were made in 2002, most relating to illness and unemployment schemes.
The office processed almost 22,000 cases in the year, including new appeals as well as 6,973 carried over from the previous year.
Almost 22 per cent of appeals handled were either fully or partially allowed, while 24 per cent (3,854) were revised and 44 per cent were disallowed.
A total of 1,836, or almost 12 per cent of appeals, were subsequently withdrawn.
Where claims are revised, the original deciding officer within the Department of Social and Family Affairs re-examines the case prior to any appeal hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an independent body which handles appeals on decisions made about claimants' entitlements to State benefits.
Illness and unemployment schemes attract the most appeals as these categories account for the highest volume of claims.
Its 2002 annual report highlights an "anomalous situation" where certain clients in institutions are entitled to Disability Allowance, while others are not.
It says this issue has been raised with the department for its consideration.
The report also calls for greater flexibility in determining whether claimants of Family Income Supplement have met the condition of being in full-time employment, which is defined as working some 38 hours per fortnight.
In a number of appeals involving lone parents, the report notes that a lack of information from the department has been a "regular complaint".
It also suggests that additional information should be made available about entitlement rules for the One-Parent Family Payment.
Appeals officers also continued to raise concerns about the level of investigation in cases involving asylum-seekers who are applying to leave State-provided accommodation.
Some 58 per cent of appeals were dealt with last year through oral hearing at 70 venues throughout the State by 19 appeals officers.
The average time taken to process appeals was just under 23 weeks, the report states.
The report also notes that because of the substantial volume of work, the processing time is greater than it should be
When allowance is made for the 25 per cent of "most protracted cases," the average processing time falls to 15 weeks, the report says.
Ms Coughlan, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, said she was pleased the report noted a 6 per cent fall in the number of appeals received last year compared to the previous year.
While her department made every effort possible to deliver entitlements to people in accordance with the legislation, it was "understandable that not everyone will agree with the decisions made on their claims", Ms Coughlan added.