John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Ryan for raising this important issue. I listened actively to his points and I will address some of them if I can. I am replying to this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, who conveys her apologies to Deputy Ryan for being unable to attend and reply in person.

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is currently administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare services division of the Health Service Executive. Late last year agreement was reached between the Health Service Executive, HSE, and unions representing the community welfare officers that the staff of the community welfare service, CWS, would transfer to the Department of Social Protection with effect from 1 January 2011 on a secondment basis initially. The period of secondment is to last for nine months until the end of September 2011. During this period the staff will remain employees of the HSE but are subject to the general direction and control of the Minister for Social Protection. From 1 October 2011 it is intended that the staff of the CWS will be transferred fully to the Department as civil servants and will be accountable to the Minister in the same way as other civil servants.

Historically, rent supplements have been administered locally by community welfare officers directly to the customer. I note Deputy Ryan's point about customer satisfaction, which is paramount. Based on what Deputy Ryan said, the service is appalling. I hope the people dealing with the issue are listening to his contribution and will take on board what he stated. However, as a result of a large increase in claims being made in recent years and the restriction on staff recruitment in the service, it was decided that priority must be given to the demand on the local service for claims where an immediate decision is needed, such as basic payments and exceptional needs payments. It was considered that rent supplement claims could be delivered more efficiently through centralised units. As Deputy Ryan indicated, that is not the case. It is important that the Minister is made aware of the situation. I will speak to her on the matter. The points raised by Deputy Ryan must be taken on board and addressed.

A unit to provide the service was set up on the north side of Dublin in December 2010 to take claims from Balbriggan, Swords and other areas of north Dublin where a large increase in demand for rent supplement had been experienced. As the Deputy is aware, it is a matter for all Departments and public sector organisations to continue to manage services with diminishing resources taking advantage of business re-engineering possibilities as provided for in the Public Service Agreement 2010-14. The Department has been advised that there are arrangements in place for customers to contact the centralised processing unit in question. A free telephone line - although I listened to the Deputy's comments about the 30-minute waiting time - for the central rents unit is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2.15 p.m. to 5 p.m. However, due to the volume and complexity of calls received, some callers may experience a delay before their calls are answered. Customers can also contact the central rents unit by post at PO Box 11905, Dublin 9, or by e-mail at communitywelfareservice@hse.ie. I have no doubt the Deputy knows all of this. Documents may also be received by fax.

The Department has been further advised that a number of staff in the CWS were employed in a temporary capacity by the HSE in 2010 for a period of six months, including some of the staff of the rent unit in question. These contracts were subsequently extended to June 2011 and are to be gradually withdrawn before the transfer of the CWS to the Department of Health from October. This has placed the unit under increased pressure and resulted in some delays in the processing of claims.

A number of transition managers have been appointed from within the CWS to work with the Department of Social Protection to oversee the transfer of the service to the Department of Health and manage the day-to-day administration of the service. The relevant transition managers are currently in the process of examining the service implications arising from the loss of these temporary staff, particularly from the rent units. They are also examining the model being used to deliver the service to ensure that the most efficient process will be used to improve service delivery, which I certainly hope will happen. Further initiatives are also proposed which will result in improvements in the delays currently being experienced. The matter is being given priority.

The timescale for determining applications for rent supplement is dependent, among other things, on the availability of the required information, such as details of applicants' incomes, bank statements and information from landlords. In addition, some aspects of the applications are inevitably time-consuming and delays can occur where further investigations or third-party evidence is required. Delays can also arise if applicants are slow to respond to requests for additional information.

The provision of a prompt service is a major objective and this will continue after the transfer of functions takes place. However, this must be achieved in a manner that is consistent with the demands of natural justice and the need to ensure that every case is fully investigated. While certain cases may take more time to process than others, overall the Department is satisfied that the CWS makes every effort to decide rent supplement claims in an efficient, effective and timely manner and that improvements will occur as a result of the current initiatives. There are no plans to reverse the decision to centralise the administration of rent supplement claims for Balbriggan, Swords and other areas of North Dublin.

I will convey the points raised by the Deputy to the Minister for Social Protection and I have no doubt she will consider them. I hope the improvements I have outlined will address some of these concerns. This may not be the reply the Deputy was seeking, but the Minister will take note of the Deputy's contribution and I hope she will consider some of the actions that may be required to improve the service.

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