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

I will refer to the issue of the post office. What we are doing is returning to the system that was in place prior to Covid-19. It has always been the case that jobseekers, prior to Covid-19, collected their payments in the post office. This is about supporting the post office network, which is an integral part of the community throughout the country. It is not just post offices in rural areas, but also post offices in the inner city. I spoke to a postmaster in the inner city and he outlined the need to support the post offices and increase the footfall to make sure they continue to be viable into the future. I met with the Irish Postmasters' Union and An Post and they were very clear that the loss of footfall for these payments was having a severe impact on post offices, both rural and urban. Deputies on all sides of the House have called on the Government to put more services into the post offices. Here is an example of that happening.

As I said before, the postmasters and the postmistresses do great work the length and breadth of this country. As Minister for Social Protection and as Minister for Rural and Community Development, I want to support them. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton is working to look at what other services can be provided via the post office network. I am happy to work with her on that. We know from the past, and the Deputy knows it himself, that if you do not use the services, you lose them. This was an opportunity to put some services into the post offices. I believe it was the right thing to do. If there are some people out there who, for whatever particular reason, cannot attend the post office they should contact their local Intreo office. We will deal with them individually.

I have outlined what is available under the essential needs payment. We pay 4,000 to 5,000 essential needs payments per month across a range of categories, including heating, clothing, housing and funeral bills. The level of essential needs payments was lower than usual during the pandemic. It is usually closer to 8,000 per month. Therefore, it has been lower. However, it is available. While we do not have the numbers of rejections, it is fair to say that most community welfare officers do a very good job. They understand the needs of the people who come into them. There is a review mechanism built into the system. There is another higher grade officer who deals with any reviews or any appeals people might have. We have a process in place whereby a decision can be reviewed if people are not happy with the outcome.