Delays in processing guaranteed minimum income (GMI) applications have been slashed to three months, down from the usual year or two, Deputy Welfare Minister Marilena Evangelou said on Monday.

In a press conference presenting the results of her 10 months in office, Evangelou said tackling the delays had been a top priority, with officials facing a backlog of applications from 2020.

As such, the time has been reduced by 75 per cent but “we don’t stop here,” she underlined. “The goal for this year is to bring down the average time to 60 days (two months).”

Evangelou added that the inspections team has grown so as to ensure GMI is granted to those who really need it, rather than those trying to cheat the system.

“From the inspections, 204 GMI grants have been scrapped following a full investigation and justification.” As such, this corresponds to €1.7 million.

Beyond this, the government has also instilled the ‘social intervention mechanism’ which aims to “break the cycle of GMI dependence” Evangelou explained.

The mechanism is the ministry’s third goal over GMI, and means every recipient has an individualised plan with set goals that can allow individuals to re-enter the labour market or training programmes for those who can.

It lasts for an average of six months and is binding, meaning GMI can be cut off if the recipient does not adhere to the plan.

“Personally, I consider the social intervention mechanism to be the most important aspect of the GMI, as it is well known that social exclusion and inactivity can pass on from generation to generation,” Evangelou said.

She added the goals which have been achieved are also a result of the tech upgrade surrounding GMI and simplifying procedures.

Between March 1, 2023 until the end of last year, 8,239 applications were processed, several of which were pending in 2020, while 6,769 applications were processed during the same period in 2022.

“This means in 2023 we reviewed 22 per cent more applications than in the same period in 2022.”

Additionally, as of January 1, 2024, there were 1,362 applications pending for review, while, during the same period last year, 5,828 were pending, Evangelou said, underlining the growing efficiency of evaluating GMI applications.