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

We have increased the number of staff. There is a full-time community welfare officer present in more than 50 Intreo offices nationwide, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. I accept there can be some very complex cases but the majority, 80% of cases, are processed in a short time. That is an indication of the service we are providing. There may be some complex cases. I am happy to look at the two specific cases the Deputy mentioned to me. We can discuss them later and I will get the details. Much of the evidence I am getting is anecdotal and I need to see the specific cases. If people have cases they want to bring to my attention, I am happy to look them up and find out exactly what happened because I want to make sure people get the service. We have an increased number of applications and approximately 74 staff to be assigned to the community welfare service. Recruitment has commenced. In most cases, they receive their payment within two weeks provided they have all the information they need. That is a big improvement on where it was.

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