Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this question. The delivery of crucial community welfare services to meet the challenges and the needs of citizens across the country remains a priority for me and my Department. It is important that the community welfare service, CWS, remains accessible, flexible and responsive to meet the varied needs of vulnerable people, particularly in a time of crisis or emergency.

The Department has maintained staffing levels in the CWS nationwide in recent years during times when demands decreased, reflective of the commitment to continue to support the delivery of locally based services to customers. The Department has introduced innovations this year, which have increased efficiency in processing applications for supplementary welfare allowance payments. These innovations and the maintenance of staffing levels have led to the CWS being in a stronger position to respond to increases in the demand for the service as they occur. This was borne out when a surge of claims was received arising from significant numbers of displaced people arriving from Ukraine. It is, therefore, anticipated that there is sufficient capacity within the CWS to manage the increased level of claims arising from the promotion of the additional needs payment during the recent advertising campaign.

Among the innovations that the Department has introduced to help citizens and to support community welfare officers, where possible, is that the preparatory work on applications, for example, the gathering of supporting documentation that is necessary to assess and finalise a claim, is carried out largely by a back-office team. However, the assessment and decision on claims and any further customer interactions are then carried out by locally based CWOs, as has always been the case.

The delivery of a locally based community welfare service remains a cornerstone of the system. This method of processing applications has been found to be very effective in improving service to customers and balancing the work of individual CWOs, especially at times of particular pressure. Having said that, it is important to note that claims activity within the CWS is closely monitored at all times and resources are deployed as necessary. There is now a national organisational structure in place to oversee the operation of the service across the entire country. As the Deputy is aware, when people need money, they need it now and not down the road.

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