Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

If inspectors on the ground need me to issue further clarity and guidelines, I am more than happy to do that. At the beginning of the year I indicated that we would do it and two circulars were issued to inspectors in May, one concerning people who were unemployed due to the down turn in the construction industry and the other concerning self-employment and jobseeker's payments. I accept there were discrepancies in the way people were being treated at the beginning of the year but, to be fair, it has a more general application. I accept the Deputy's comments on people not having accounts because self-employed people only had to produce their accounts in November 2008 for 2007. I will ensure flexibility is given to people in that regard.

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