Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The fact is that two weeks is too long. Two weeks for some payments might be sufficient but for this case, where it is for a deposit or rent, an immediate payment is needed. Otherwise, the tenancy will be gone because there is such a demand. I do not know why the system was changed because there is an old saying that goes, if it is not broken, do not fix it.

Before this, somebody in the local authority who knew the person locally would have worked in the community welfare office and a good relationship would have been built up. That person could contact the office and say we have an urgent case of somebody fleeing a domestic violence situation or who is homeless and needs a payment, and the payment was processed within a day or two and resolved. That is not happening now, however.

Like Deputy Boyd Barrett said earlier, I am hearing that community welfare officers are not available either. There was a time when they used to have scheduled clinics at different times throughout the county and people could just drop in. That is not happening now from what I am hearing the ground. That was a great system where people just went to them and there was a personal touch and, as the Minister said, a humane attitude. Returning to that system could help resolve many issues on the ground.

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