Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I wish to make a few brief but important points. The community welfare officer is becoming more important in his interaction with the community than had previously been the case. I compliment the Department on the training of the community welfare officers so they can deal with people who are in desperate situations and I support them in their work.

Increasingly I am hearing from people who have been refused assistance on the basis of the habitual residence clause, an issue of growing concern. Returned emigrants who have been out of the country for over a year have been refused social welfare claims on that basis. They have worked abroad, losing their employment benefit entitlement even though they are Irish citizens. Perhaps the Minister could provide statistics on the numbers involved.

I have been seeking information on the number appeals to community welfare officers in County Louth but I have not received a satisfactory response. In my experience, rarely, if ever, is an appeal successful. I would like to find out what is happening throughout the country and I ask the Minister to publish a league table of appeals to superintendent community welfare officers and further appeals to the HSE. There must be more transparency about those facts and figures.

In many cases those who have lost an appeal have not prepared the best possible case for themselves and there may be a need for assistance in the preparation of appeals. The wording of refusals can also be very cold, with phrases such as "I received your undated letter of..." smacking of bureaucracy.

The CWOs and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul work well together in County Louth and I pay tribute to the work they do to deal with cases. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul can assist in cases where there may be a doubt — it errs on the side of generosity and I welcome that.

In County Louth, 14,700 people are claiming job seeker's benefit or job seeker's allowance. Of those, fewer than 200 are on the back to work or back to education allowances. There is a job to be done around the country in dealing with people who would benefit from the back to work or back to education allowances, particularly young people who were involved in the construction industry, to get better qualifications. Perhaps the Minister will direct attention to that area when applications are being assessed, with someone appointed to tell people about educational options that are available in a way they can act upon.

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