Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

The Minister mentioned that the Department sought to acquire such buildings through the OPW. Will some of these be rented from companies such as Treasury Holdings, which owe the State a great deal of money through NAMA and so on, or will they be purchased outright by the Department?

The Minister made the point that the Department is aware of some of the changes needed. Currently, some social welfare offices have no cover for those exposed to the elements while queueing in inclement weather. In some cases, toilet access is lacking, and there are no seats in some offices. I hope this will be rectified if new offices are purchased.

I ask the Minister to find out whether there are plans to close the Thomas Street social welfare office and move its clients to the office in Bishop's Square, Dublin 8, while most of the existing clients in Bishop's Square who come from the Dublin 12 area are moved to a premises on the Long Mile Road. Changes of this type can be problematic because of access to bus routes and so on. I ask the Department to be mindful that some areas, even those which are close by, may be inaccessible to many people because of changes to Dublin Bus routes.

See this speech in context