Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister referred to the tone I am using. I am using that tone because there is frustration out there in regard to the massaging of closures, not just in this instance but, as I noted earlier, in regard to the closure of other offices, with the suggestion that this is due to shortage of staff. The reality is that I and other Deputies sought clarification from the Minister. The Minister told me to be careful so I will read the transcript of her remarks. I am delighted she said she is looking at alternatives because that is not what she told me in the Dáil yesterday and not what she indicated in her conversations, nor is it what was indicated in the Department's conversations and Intreo's conversations with the Deputies in regard to what was happening. On LMFM, the Minister said:

The service hasn't been closed down. We were in a position where we were operating our weekly community welfare service to the people in the Dunleer office in a HSE-owned building and we received notification from the HSE that the building was no longer fit for purpose and we couldn't use it any more. The service will continue. There is a very small number of people accessing the service and they are being redirected temporarily to their nearest local office. If they are not in a position to go to that local office, and some people are not, our community welfare staff will go out to them and we will continue to provide the service until we find another, more suitable premises.

That was the clarification I sought. I sought it again yesterday, and I am delighted that the Minister has indicated what she is doing. It gives clarity to the people with whom she has been miscommunicating, namely, the Deputies. The information that was communicated to all the Deputies in Louth by Intreo, not by the Minister, told us that the facilities were not being continued. The people in mid-Louth will be delighted with the Minister's response.

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