F.D v Chief Appeals Officer (Unapproved)

Donnelly J.���������������������������������������������������� ���� Neutral Citation Number [2023] IECA 123

      �The High Court (Hyland J.), in a judgment delivered on 18 July 2022, refused to quash the decision of the chief appeals officer (hereinafter "the respondent�) to determine the appellant�s social welfare appeal on a summary basis. �The appellant maintains that she was entitled to have the appeal of the decision concerning her entitlement to carer�s allowance, in particular the decision to order repayment of her allowance, determined by way of oral hearing.

      �Pursuant to the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 (the �2005 Act�), the deciding officer held that the appellant was required to repay the sum of �54,184.10 in circumstances where the appellant had an entitlement to a lower rate of carer�s allowance from 2014 to 2018, and no entitlement to carer�s allowance from 2018 to 2019.� The appeals officer, after a summary consideration of the appeal, upheld that decision.

      The judicial review proceedings claimed that the appeals officer acted without due regard to fair procedures, natural and constitutional justice and contrary to the provisions of the 2005 Act and the Social Welfare (Appeals) Regulations, 1998 (as amended by Article 5 Social Welfare (Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations, 2011.� The respondents� opposition included a claim that the appellant had failed to exhaust the alternative remedy of seeking a revision under the scheme of appeals/revision set out in the 2005 Act.

      The background to the case is set out in the decision of the High Court as follows: