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

I thank the Minister for her response and I hope that things will be speeded up. The message that needs to go out today is that people should not wait until the very last moment before contacting the community welfare officer. They should also know that there will be some length of time to wait. What I have been finding an awful lot, even before the most immediate pressures, is that people cannot afford to get to hospital appointments. If one is in Mayo and one has to try to get transport to one's hospital appointment, there is no public transport. That is a real need. That can wipe out somebody's whole income for the week, if they are on a social welfare payment. I ask for as much flexibility as possible around those payments in order that people can get to vital hospital appointments and get the money that they need.

See this speech in context