Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I am listening to concerns directly through the Deputy, Deputy Conway-Walsh and many other Deputies. I have met workers myself in my own constituency. That is why we have put the processes in place that have ensured 45 urgent needs payments have been made and 56 jobseeker's claims have been awarded. The offices are available to the Deputy to process any specific claims he has. I absolutely agree with him about the pressure this is putting on employees and franchise holders. I want to ensure that the supports we can make available at this time can be made available, albeit there this a redundancy process underway. I do not want to see people without an income at any time of the year, but particularly at this time of year. That is why we set up a dedicated team to deal with Fastway workers. Every Intreo office and local employment office in the areas most affected have processes in place to deal with them efficiently and quickly. If there are specific cases the Deputy wants to raise, the team in the Department are more than happy to engage with the him or any Member of the Oireachtas directly in relation to that.

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