Dáil debates

Thursday, 20 May 2010

Garda Vetting

Departmental Properties

5:00 pm

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this unusual issue. It will surprise most people to discover that County Laois does not have any direct social welfare office. I ask the Minister to take the opportunity that now presents itself to reverse what I would call the long-established unacceptable practice where the Department of Social Protection, formerly the Department of Social and Family Affairs, contracts out the work of providing a social welfare service to a third party in County Laois. It was probably an age-old practice that happened in many counties years ago. It is a bit like post offices where the local postmaster provided the building and the staff. However, in all major centres An Post now runs its own post offices directly.

Up to now all Portlaoise had was a branch office run by a third party, who was not a direct employee. He provided the building and hired the staff. There was no criticism of the service supplied by the current and former manager and staff in Portlaoise. They provided a service to the best of their ability for the Department. Unfortunately the Department did not give them the level of autonomy to which the people of Laois would feel entitled in order to make decisions at local level. I am raising the issue now because the Department of Social Protection placed an advertisement in last week's local newspapers seeking to fill the vacancy of manager of a social welfare branch office in Portlaoise, County Laois.

This presents the ideal opportunity to act. The Department has confirmed that the branch manager who has operated that service well over the years is retiring this summer. The Department should use the opportunity to provide a direct office. I was shocked, disappointed and angry that the Department took what appears to me the lazy option of reappointing a branch manager again. This is an ideal opportunity because a vacancy now arises for the Department to take a hands-on approach and provide its own office in Portlaoise to serve the entire county of Laois. This would allow people make their social welfare claims, including applications for jobseeker's allowance and benefit and would also also for departmental staff in the office in Portlaoise who would be in a position to make decisions on those claims.

According to the advertisement, the new person to be appointed will be obliged to provide the accommodation, which will need to meet health and safety standards and deal with the staff issues in a manner suitable to the Department. I am asking the Department to postpone this decision. I am sure it will be able to find people to temporarily move to Portlaoise to manage the service on a temporary basis until it gets a permanent office in Portlaoise to do this. Through the decentralisation programme, 200 to 300 staff have already come from the Dublin region to work in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Portlaoise. There is no shortage of people seeking to decentralise to Portlaoise.

I raised the matter with the Minister a few days ago and I reported it to the local newspaper. I have seen a response from the Department which indicates that it will ask the OPW to acquire premises for a new control office. It states that the control office in Portlaoise will be a small office not accessible to members of the public and that it will take in the applications from Portlaoise, Portarlington and Rathdowney. This is not even a half-way measure to what I am seeking. I want a straight regular service that applies in practically every other county in Ireland.

There are only two other locations in the country where the Department does not provide its own direct office. I ask the Department to reconsider this. In what we would call the main Government offices in Portlaoise there would be a small office for the Department of Social Protection for the inspectors who would deal with cases. However, that is not a public office that is accessible generally. Sometimes one is in trouble if called in there. I will put it that way.

The Acting Chairman will be surprised that a county like Laois has no social welfare office manned by the Department's own staff. I do not agree that the new control office that is to be set up, which will not be accessible by the public, addresses my concerns. There is a perfect opportunity for the Department to put in place temporary measures. I submitted this motion at short notice and the Minister of State may not have a detailed comprehensive reply. If the reply is not to the satisfaction of the people in County Laois, I will have no hesitation in meeting the Minister to discuss the matter in the coming days.

Photo of Áine BradyÁine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I am replying to this matter on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Ó Cuív. I thank the Deputy for raising it. The Department delivers a front-line service through a network of 62 local offices and 62 branch offices and the service in Portlaoise is delivered by a branch office. Branch offices are operated by private individuals on a contract for service basis. The terms of these contracts specify a requirement to provide suitable accommodation and to maintain adequate staffing levels to enable the transaction of social welfare services.

The main services provided by the branch office include jobseeker's payment, one-parent family payment and an information service. All decisions on branch office claims are currently made in the parent local office.

The Department is conscious of the need to ensure that an appropriate level of service is offered so that all its customers can have their business transacted in an efficient and timely manner. Portlaoise, in common with all branch offices has dealt with a very significant increase in the number of persons registering as unemployed and this has naturally led to an increased demand for services.

The Department regularly reviews the arrangements for delivering services in the area served by branch offices. The branch manager in Portlaoise has notified the Department of his intention to retire in July 2010. In such circumstances consideration is given to the possible retention of the branch office service, the opening of a departmentally staffed office or the relocation or amalgamation of services, taking account of local factors, including accommodation, lead in times and other issues.

In the circumstances and in order to ensure service continuity in Portlaoise, the Department decided to advertise the branch manager position on the basis of a five-year contract. Simultaneously the Department will proceed to open a departmental control office in Portlaoise. The primary function of a control office, which is staffed by departmental staff, is to decide on claims taken in the branch offices reporting to it. The Department plans to have the branch offices in Portlaoise, Portarlington and Rathdowney report to the proposed new control office in Portlaoise. This approach, which should improve customer services in County Laois, will be kept under review.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 25 May 2010.