Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

My purpose in raising this problem is to get it solved. I am concerned about those who have lost their jobs. It is stressful for them in any event and involves a considerable change to their living circumstances. Suddenly having to turn to the social welfare service for assistance is bad enough but it is even worse if that assistance is not available and if one turns up at one's local office on any given week and finds a notice on the window stating there will be no staff present. This is not acceptable. If the process is working like this in the constituency of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, which I have the honour of sharing with her, I suspect it is happening elsewhere also. I know it is from colleagues. I want to see the problem resolved such that one's social welfare claim will be dealt with promptly and that there will be a member of staff available to meet one at the social welfare office.

Apart from the consequences of the delays for the individual, which are my primary concern, there are knock-on consequences. My colleague, Deputy Higgins, drew attention recently to the consequences of the delays for people being offered short-term work. If an unemployed person takes up an offer of short-term work for a week or two, he will be placed at the end of the queue when he re-applies for social welfare. Somebody who has had to wait three months for his claim to be processed and who has had the experience I have described in respect of community welfare officers will wonder what will happen next time at the social welfare office when his or her short-term job is finished. Apart from the need to resolve the problem in the interest of the unemployed, it must be resolved in the interest of the existing cohort of community welfare officers who are under strain. It is a very stressful to be dealing with the number of claims being made at present and the system, as it operates, acts as a disincentive to unemployed people to take up short-term work. I ask that the matter be dealt with promptly. I will return to it if it is not.

See this speech in context