Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister following up on these issues because some people are in constrained circumstances, to put it simply. That is obviously beneficial.

I see the logic around streamlining. We need to make sure we catch whatever issues are happening regarding materials being lost. I have previously raised the issue of one lady who is raising kids with a number of disabilities. I am also dealing with someone who is going through cancer treatment and was dealing with the local authority about two exceptional needs payments. One case was closed on the basis of the information the woman had sent in and in the other she was told the office had not received the materials but then found them.

I accept that the Minister has looked into all of these issues individually and she and her offices will do everything they can to make sure we catch these teething problems, for want of a better term. We cannot take away from the huge work being done by community welfare officers. If we are streamlining the system, we need to make sure that works and there are no delays to people who, as I have said, are under constrained circumstances. We also need to make sure that materials are not being lost because there are wider issues around that.

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