Ray Butler (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sure many rural Deputies will support this point. The community welfare offices were closed in rural areas. I would like to know what savings were made on the closure of these offices. In Summerhill, County Meath, Age Action Ireland was providing an office free of charge to the community welfare officer to meet the people from the area. That was pulled overnight. I heard that community welfare officers were stopped from holding clinics in rural areas. I was told the service was stopped because of the mileage payments to the officials and cutbacks by the Department. What savings were made? In certain cases it should not have been done because it was costing the State very little. We were giving a service. Many people who are on social welfare do not have fancy cars or the extra money to go on the bus to visit town centres. We put many people under more pressure, yet in my view no savings were achieved.