Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am trying to listen carefully to the language of the Minister's reply. I am not reassured by it. The premise on which I base my question is the right of the citizen to interact face to face with an officer. I am asking the Minister for clarification because I am hearing that her Department is not renewing leases in respect of certain traditional centres such as health centres where they delivered in-community and in the most rural areas. Is that the case?

All Deputies represent the poorest and the most vulnerable. We accept the fact that the supplementary welfare allowance system is an excellent system because it delivers to the poorest. We know that the Minister's Department gave nearly €43 million in exceptional and urgent needs payments in 2021. My fear now is that for the citizen who does not have access to the nearest town, who traditionally might have had access in the local village where there was a visiting community welfare officer in the local health centre, that system will stop. If that stops it just takes the citizen that bit further away from the service.

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