Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The community welfare service is committed to providing a quality service to all citizens, ensuring that applications are processed and ensuring that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. It is a key service and deals with approximately 12,000 claim applications per month. Over 2,600 additional needs payment claims are currently being received each week and of these 300 are for new accommodation kit-outs.

To deal efficiently with the volume of claims being received and to ensure a consistent level of service, local community welfare officers are now supported by a network of national administration support teams based in seven hubs located around the country. These hubs take on routine administrative tasks associated with claim processing, which frees up front-line community welfare officers to deal directly with clients and their claims and allows them to respond to any other events or incidents that arise. These measures show the clear commitment by my Department to support customers. The community welfare service support hubs have also played a vital role in the response to priority projects, including supporting people arriving from Ukraine, extreme weather events and the increase in international protection applicants.

There are no delays in any of the support hubs. All claims received by a hub are made ready for decision as quickly as possible and returned to the local community welfare officer within a short time for decision. There are no backlogs and work on hand is within normal community welfare service processing levels. Where the required claim application forms and documentation are supplied, claims are sent to local community welfare officers on the same day. Where it has been identified that a person has an urgent or immediate need, regardless of whether they have provided all the required documentation, these claims are referred immediately to a community welfare officer.

Community welfare officers are physically on site each day in over 50 Intreo centres across the country, where they are available to be seen without an appointment during business hours from Monday to Friday. In addition to meeting people in Intreo centres and Department of Social Protection offices, community welfare officers can facilitate an appointment within a short time of a person requiring such a meeting, at a mutually agreed location, including at the person's home.

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