Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I listened to the Minister's reply earlier to Deputy Kerrane. I thank the community welfare officers and acknowledge the work done by them. The ones I know are certainly going above and beyond in trying to meet the needs of people who are in a very desperate situation. I welcome the measures that the Minister has outlined but I wish to know how long the recruitment process will be because I am concerned that might take weeks or even months. What are the target times? Will we be in a situation by Christmas in which the time is much reduced? How quickly will the online system be up and running? Will the Minister explain a bit more about people not having to go into the office? It is not the easiest thing in the world for people to try to gather bank statements. It can take quite a long time, especially for people who have literacy issues and are extremely marginalised. My real concern is about how they can access this as smoothly and as quickly as possible.

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