Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I never mentioned the queues outside offices but they are appalling. I will ask the questions again that I asked earlier. What happened to the 50 facilitators, the appointment of whom the Minister announced last July? Were they all recruited and deployed? When did the number of facilitators change from 40 to 60? When community welfare officers assess an application for a supplementary welfare payment, they must obtain information to ensure the claimant has an entitlement. How can they process such claims within a week while it takes up to 16 weeks for the Department to process claims?

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