High staff turnover in Buncrana office blamed for delay in Maternity Benefit payments

The delay in Maternity Benefit payments has been attributed to a high staff turnover in the Department of Social Protections, Buncrana office.
The office on McCarter’s Road deals with processing maternity claims.
There are currently nearly 3000 claims waiting to be processed with 1,300 of those women already on maternity leave.
In a statement, the Department of Social Protection said:
‘The delays are temporary and have been caused by a combination of staffing and operational issues. The Department has recently experienced a high turnover of staff in our Buncrana office which processes maternity claims. We have also experienced challenges in recruiting replacement staff and once recruited it takes time for staff to be fully trained. In relation to the operational issues, a new IT system has recently been introduced and has taken time to bed in fully.’
Since February there have been delays with some women on maternity leave waiting 3 or 4 weeks to receive a maternity benefit payment.
The Department say they recognise this and that the delay is unacceptable.