Mr. Des Henry:

The staffing and the officers' experience in the roles is constantly evolving. Unfortunately, we are like a lot of other Departments where we have an ageing staff. None of us is getting any younger and experience is there. I appreciate the value of the officer who was referred to, in terms of his local community and the work he did. There is no question about that. The policy is there not alone to support the public but to support officers. CWOs have discretion. All our circulars, notes and guidance point out that the officer has discretion to make a payment. The policy and systems are not there to hinder an officer making a decision. However, an officer has to satisfy himself or herself that the need is there. If documentation is required to support it, that is perfectly valid. Nobody is telling a CWO with a case in front of him or her that they do not want him or her to take a decision or delay a decision on a particular case.

The sweeper role of the CWO was also mentioned. We accept it is there, but primarily the need has to be urgent and something the individual either cannot meet himself or herself or cannot be supported in by some other relevant agency or Department. That is the way the system is. The idea of somebody travelling from Castlerea or Ballaghaderreen to Roscommon is not what we intend for people to do, to access the community welfare service. We are trying to improve our channels, whether through telephone channels, for example. However, ultimately as Mr. Hand said, the idea is that the local officer will make the decision about the local case. That will always be the situation. As Mr. Hession mentioned in his opening statement, we also need to ensure that there is a consistent and responsive approach among CWOs, in terms of new officers having that experience and training. That is something we also want to do. As the Deputy will be aware, when the community welfare service came into the Department it was a massive change for experienced CWOs coming from the former HSE. It takes time for change to bed in and that has happened. We will make 98,000 additional needs payments this year. The particular case of the blind individual should not have happened. We will be happy to look at that case and provide an update, if we are sent the details. To be fair, that is what we have done with all cases and at all times where we have received correspondence or representations. Whoever it is, we have responded to the particular case and, where possible, have tried to address and finalise a case. We will continue to do that.