Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the community welfare offices (details supplied) in County Dublin are being closed and staff services being centralised to Parnell Road and Bishops Square, social welfare offices; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4270/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department is in the process of major organisational change following the transfer of responsibility for community welfare services and FÁS employment and community employment services. We have taken approximately 1,000 community welfare service staff and 700 FÁS staff into the Department.

The Department is committed to developing and implementing a case management approach across the full range of its services, with a focus on working with the person rather than the scheme. In implementing this challenging programme of change, the objective is to ensure that all services provided are co-ordinated and support customers and clients of the Department through the development of improved processes and the concentration of staff and resources in integrated units. Skilled and knowledgeable case managers will work with individuals in need to ensure that they not only receive the appropriate income supports but are also helped to find a way in which they can participate to the fullest extent possible in their community, economy and workforce.

This is the context in which the services provided in Dublin 12 are being reviewed. The offices referred to by this question are located in Curlew Road Health Centre, Drimnagh, Dublin 12; Cashel Road Health Centre, Crumlin, Dublin 12; and Parnell Road Health Centre, Dublin 12. The hours during which the services are provided are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. It is also important to note that the review is ongoing and that a final decision has not yet been made on the location and nature of services to be provided. I assure the Deputy that the overall priority is better customer service and that members of the public and public representatives will be fully informed about the changes being proposed and consultation will take place.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I appeal to the Minister not to move on any closure of the community welfare offices in Crumlin or in Curlew Road. These offices are in the heart of their communities where people can access them. Their staff have significant experience and know exactly who is who and what goes on in the area. They have their ear to the ground with regard to work in the area. Closing these offices and moving the staff to Parnell Road and Bishops Square would be brutal for the people in the community. These people have little or no money and many of them are ill and waiting for appeals on disability. Now they will have to travel further into town although they can little afford the €2 for the bus to get there.

This removal of community offices from the heart of the community is a retrograde move by the Department. Morale is completely down within the offices in this regard. People are worried. Voluntary organisations have contacted our offices on this and they are hugely concerned that these offices are being pulled out of the area. It is the wrong move and I ask the Minister to reconsider it.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I wish to reassure the Deputy that we consult very widely with the kind of community organisations to which she referred. However, it should be borne in mind that we took over a service where we had 1,000 community welfare service officers, many of whom handled not just special payments and rent, but also social welfare assistance. As we move to the new model - this should be good news, it was done with a number of offices last year and it is proposed to do it in a large number of offices this year - what happens is that people who come in for social welfare assistance have their claim dealt with within a couple of days or a week at the most.

As the Deputy knows, people who took the traditional community welfare route often had to wait quite a number of weeks before they got whatever payment they were due. This is a very big change in the service, but it means we can now use the talents and resources of the community welfare service officers to help people getting back to work and education and to take up opportunities such as community employment, as well as providing the traditional service. The assistance services will largely be integrated into the offices, which will free up time for a more targeted person to person service for each person in receipt of a social welfare income.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I do not think that washes from the point of view of the community in the Dublin 12 area. The Parnell Road office is a tiny office. Currently it is very busy, yet the Minister is talking about bringing in claimants from Dublin 6, 6W, Dublin 12 and Bluebell. That is ridiculous and will not work. People will be queuing up outside trying to access the office. I appeal to the Minister not to go ahead with this. Surely, with computerisation that work could be brought to the community welfare offices in Crumlin, Limekiln and Curlew Road. I urge the Minister not to take this step as it will have a detrimental effect on the people who need the service most.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Change is always difficult and it takes some time to implement. However, we are consulting the organisations and we are determined to improve the experience and the service for people, particularly with regard to helping people get back to work and to transforming the long waits people used to face for assistance.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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There is no improvement for people with what is happening.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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We must move to improve the service.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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If the Deputies and the Minister want to continue the discussion, it should be done outside the Chamber. I must take care of conducting the business here. We will move on to Question No. 126.