Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for his question and I would be happy to hear from him in detail about the problems or delays he has encountered in respect of payment of participants. The services provided by Pobal could be provided by my Department or other Departments but it is unlikely to result in significant savings. Staff resources would need to be deployed, systems would need development and the expertise in providing advice to the sectors concerned may not be readily available.

There have been further changes to Pobal since the Government took office. It is now under the aegis of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. I will consider what the Deputy said. Pobal is a service provider for the rural social scheme and the community services programme. If the provider was to be replaced, we would have to examine the implications for the resources of my Department. There is an extraordinary call on the services of the Department and we have recently taken on additional work, including insolvency and redundancy payments. I am reluctant to commit to extra services unless we carry out a full evaluation.

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