Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

We recently streamlined procedures for people moving to jobseeker's allowance from jobseeker's benefit. We have also made an improvement in the IT system, which will generate automatic letters to people before they come to the end of jobseeker's benefit so that assessments can be done. We have also streamlined a process for people who have had a claim in the previous two years, so that if people get a job for a couple of weeks or go to training or FÁS, the process for dealing with that is better. Application forms are available on the website so that people can bring them in already completed. More straightforward procedures have also been introduced for identity checks and improvements have been made in the area of casual work. There is significant paperwork involved in casual work claims. We are constantly trying to improve the process and the more we do in this regard the better.

With regard to the Deputy's earlier comments on improvements generally, the two issues which have not been advanced are the agreement with the branch officers on them making decisions locally rather than having forms and applications going to the local office. This has been agreed with the branch offices, but has not yet been implemented. That is held up.

See this speech in context