Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps she is taking to deal with the long waiting times for the processing of claims in her Department; the target waiting period which she has set for the processing of jobseeker claims; and when she expects to meet that target. [23438/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The number of people on the live register almost doubled between May 2008 and May 2009 to a total of nearly 397,000. The average processing time for claims decided in May was 3.4 weeks for jobseeker's benefit and 6.4 weeks for jobseeker's allowance. These are averages and I appreciate that waiting times are longer in some areas. In other areas they are shorter than the average.

The Government is determined to ensure that people who have lost their jobs or been put on shorter working weeks can get access to their entitlements as quickly as possible. To that end, productivity in local offices has increased, claim processing procedures have been improved and extra staff have been put in place. In the five month period to May 2009, over 222,500 claims for jobseeker payments were decided in local offices, up from 133,000 in the same period last year.

As a result of staffing reviews in 2008 and again in recent months, some 300 extra staff have been assigned to local offices, new central support units and the Department's inspectorate since May 2008. These include 90 temporary staff who have been appointed to local offices around the country pending the assignment of permanent staff. Arrangements are also in train to allocate a further 24 inspector posts.

The processing target for jobseeker's benefit is 90% of claims processed in three weeks. In May, 60% of jobseeker's benefit claims were decided within that time. For jobseeker's allowance the target is 90% in six weeks and 65% of claims were decided within this time in May. It is not possible to predict when these targets will be met while the live register continues to increase to record numbers but I am conscious that people need to get access to financial and other supports as quickly as possible and we will continue to work hard to bring processing times back in line with targets.

Deputies will be aware that anyone who is under financial pressure while awaiting a decision on their claim for a jobseeker's payment can apply for supplementary welfare allowance which is subject to a means test and other qualifying conditions.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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To say people can get supplementary welfare allowance while waiting to get their claim processed is incorrect. They cannot do that because there are waiting lists to see community welfare officers. The failure to tackle the waiting lists within the Minister's Department is putting enormous pressure on the community welfare service and organisations like MABS and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. People are going without food and other essentials because the services cannot cope with the demand. The Minister quoted figures but the reality is that no improvement has taken place in waiting times, the most recent figures have shown that 39 offices have waiting times of over two months for jobseeker's allowance.

Whatever about jobseeker's allowance, what about jobseeker's benefit, which is a simple matter of checking a person's social insurance record? Although no means testing is involved, waiting times in some offices are more than nine weeks. How can that be explained?

The Minister must get the finger out and get moving. There is a deluge of applications and people are being left to wait for a payment of any kind. They simply cannot survive in those circumstances. It is unacceptable that a basic public service such as social welfare is not accessible to people when they need it.

I want the Minister to tell the House exactly how many additional posts have been sanctioned for the Department. She mentioned 300 posts. Are all of those 300 in place? How many additional staff will be needed and how many have been sanctioned by the Department of Finance to date?

Can the Minister pinpoint where exactly delays exist in the Department? Are they in means testing, in assessing habitual residence or at the frontline? Where are the blockages? The Minister must be specific as she goes about tackling this problem because her efforts to date have not been sufficient.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy drew attention to a number of issues. There are only two offices where there is a nine week wait for jobseeker's benefit, both of them in the Cork area. In fairness to the others, one might mention those offices where it can be done in less than a week or in two weeks. In the vast majority of offices, claims are processed in a much shorter time. I appreciate jobseeker's benefit can be done more speedily because it is based on the record and I hope the arrangement that started in the Dundalk office, where decisions were being made on the day on claims, can be extended to the rest of the country. Unfortunately the CPSU stopped that even though it was in everybody's interest, staff and applicant alike, because it can be done quickly.

The longest delays are in branch offices. Agreement was reached with the branch officers in April 2008 that they would be able to make decisions locally. At the moment, they take in the applications, which are then taken from them and given to the local office. Because local offices have their own demands, to date they have not given priority to branch offices. Agreement was reached with them in April 2008 that they could make their own decisions but the CPSU will not allow that because it claims it is outsourcing. We cannot cope with the flood coming from branch offices to local offices but this would free up staff in local offices and would benefit people.

Those are two key issues where we could have far greater cooperation. The Deputy asked about the third area, the community welfare officers. The sooner we can have an integrated process with the CWOs coming into the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the better. Again this has been blocked for years but it has been referred to the Labour Relations Commission and we expect a date for hearings shortly. SIPTU has agreed to participate, although so far IMPACT has not, and I hope we can secure agreement on the idea. That will lead to better service for everyone because it is not right that people should have to wait.

The 300 staff were put in place between May 2008 and May 2009. Some of those have been put in place in the last few months. At the start of the year we indicated that we wanted 300 staff this year so we will be looking for another 150 staff. Those staff are on their way from other Departments, there is no question of any blockage, but they must be trained and deployed in the right places.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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How many of them?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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We have also established the central units that are working effectively. They have no front of house contact but are solely making decisions on claims. The next central unit will open in Tallaght on 6 July. Huge progress has been made and the productivity of the staff has really improved. From January until May this year they processed 250,000 claims while in the same time last year they processed 146,000.

Through the establishment of the central units and the efforts being made all round to ensure applicants can be dealt with as speedily as possible progress is being made, although I appreciate there are delays in some areas.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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If there are industrial relations issues it is the Minister's responsibility to deal with them swiftly. Whatever about problems within the Minister's own offices, the suggestion that the problem lies with the need for the community welfare officers to transfer into the Department of Social and Family Affairs is entirely wide of the mark.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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No, it is not.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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What difference will it make if they come under a different Department? If there are not enough staff, there are not enough staff, irrespective of what they are called. The Minister should deal with the industrial relations issues and stop hiding behind them.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Tell that to the CPSU.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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How many additional posts have been approved over and above the 300? When will they be in place?

Last year the Department of Social and Family Affairs had one of the highest rates of absenteeism, with an average of 15 sick days per year. What is the current situation and what steps is the Minister taking to deal with that?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The transfer of the community welfare officers is central. They spend the Department's money and the Department pays the Department of Health and Children to pay them to pay the money. That is not an efficient, integrated system. The Department has no difficulty in getting staff from other Departments but there is a difficulty in the HSE, even though they have had extra places sanctioned. There are issues there, however, related to back-filling. However, although extra places have been sanctioned for the HSE, issues arise over backfilling or some other phenomenon. I am not quite sure about the intricacies of the process. It is not quite relevant here. Undoubtedly, were the officers to be part of our Department, we could ensure that we would be able to fill any vacancies if staffing difficulties arose. This is because we have powers of sanction.

I indicated at the beginning of this year that we need 300 additional staff. One hundred and fifty of those are currently in place and we expect to get the other 150. They have been placed in local offices and the central units.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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When does the Department expect to have the other 150?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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They are being recruited all the time as they are freed up from other Departments.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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What about absenteeism?

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I do not have up-to-date data on absenteeism but if the Department has it, I will facilitate the Deputy.