Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister for Justice for coming to deal with this as I understand the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Heather Humphreys, is busy with departmental issues.

I raise the closure of the Citizens Information office in Wicklow town. This is an incredibly successful information office and one of the busiest in the county. It provides a real service and has done for many years to local residents, particularly elderly people or migrant communities. It has formed very strong bonds with the Traveller community in the Wicklow district and there is a direct provision centre in Wicklow town as well, along with emergency accommodation nearby in Ashford. The office provides an absolutely essential service to the residents in those centres.

Unfortunately, during the Covid-19 pandemic it became apparent that the office that the service occupied in Wicklow town was no longer suitable from a health and safety perspective.

The office closed temporarily but staff realised quickly that they could not open the doors again and formally and officially closed the doors on 1 March this year. They have identified an alternative premises but they need funding in order to secure it.

I was hoping to raise the matter with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, tonight. My understanding is that it is a matter for the Department whether the funding will be made available for this premises. As I said, this is a really essential service. I was just looking for an update on the funding application and whether there is a possibility to get it funded. Now more than ever people within our communities need access to a safe, trusted, free information service that assists them with things like writing applications, knowing what Government Department to contact and knowing what their entitlements are. Particularly with the rising cost of living and rising fuel costs, and since we will have a lot of new members of our community with Ukrainian citizens coming as well, it is really important that we continue to support Citizens Information offices. I hope the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, will provide the funding to keep them operating in such a successful manner.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, sends her apologies for not being able to be here. The Citizens Information Board, CIB, under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection, is the statutory body with responsibility for the Citizens Information service, CIS. The Citizens Information Board provides funding to 22 companies in order to deliver services on its behalf. This includes eight CIS companies that operate a national network of Citizens Information centres, including south Leinster CIS which encompasses County Wicklow.

Wicklow town Citizens Information centre initially opened an office in August 2005. In March 2020, as the Deputy outlined, the board of south Leinster CIS made the decision to close the Wicklow office as part of its Covid-19 response. The decision to close any office within the CIS network is a matter for the relevant CIS board as they are responsible for their region's service delivery. The Wicklow office has remained closed since March 2020. As the Deputy has outlined, the valuable work carried out by the Wicklow office has continued during this period and the one full-time information officer, previously based in Wicklow Citizens Information centre, has worked supporting citizens of Wicklow from the Bray Citizens Information office since March 2020. It is not ideal and obviously not in the same location but that support is continuing.

On 6 December 2021, the south Leinster CIS regional manager on behalf of the board informed CIB that they had made the decision to discontinue services in their Wicklow town office due to health and safety concerns. The board had undertaken an internal assessment of the premises and identified that they were unsuitable under a number of areas. A temporary office location was identified in Wicklow town; however, the board of south Leinster CIS made the decision not to use this office, while looking to procure a longer term arrangement.

An alternative office space in the centre of Wicklow town was considered in 2021 but these premises would require substantial financial investment before they could be utilised. Planning permission for the change of use of these premises was granted in late 2021 and consequently had not been factored into CIB's 2022 budget allocation estimates process. CIB receives an annual funding allocation from the Department of Social Protection. Therefore, CIB was not in a financial position at the time to commit to any projects that extended into the next financial year as they had not been included in their estimates to the Department.

However, both CIB and the board of south Leinster CIS are committed to the continued ongoing delivery of high-quality services to the people of County Wicklow. Services have continued to be offered throughout the pandemic and will continue to be available through a combination of offices in Arklow and Bray for drop-in appointments and phone-based services. The latter have been particularly successful in ensuring south Leinster CIS has continued to support the people of County Wicklow over what has been a very difficult delivery environment since March 2020.

On the discussion around funding, I note that the Department of Social Protection and CIB are currently holding discussions in respect of funding required to complete the new premises development for Wicklow town. These discussions are taking place in the context of CIB's 2022 budget allocation and other competing priorities, taking into account all of the reasons it could not be considered until now.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister. I know this is not her area but I will say that response is essentially what I said to her in the first instance. It outlines the importance of the information office and goes through the history of what happened. Unfortunately it does not give any timeline as to when funding could potentially be provided or if the Department will be looking favourably on that funding. I understand the Minister may not be in a position to answer that. There needs to be clarity and certainty given to people.

The Minister is correct that the officer who was in Wicklow town is now based in Bray. I am not sure if the Minister ever tried to get public transport from Bray or Arklow to Wicklow town. Despite them being relatively close, maybe 20 or 30 minutes away, it is near impossible to get a bus or train. The service is very limited. The communities that these centres are focused on and try to provide a service to are not communities that would have easy access to private transport.

I understand this is not the Minister's area but it is a really important function. It is crucial that Wicklow town retains its office. I would hate to see it delayed for six months or a year while the annual bureaucratic budgetary process is negotiated. The funds need to be provided to make sure this service can continue. In north Wicklow, and now I can see it across the entirety of Wicklow and the whole country, we are going to have a lot of individuals who will need supports, advice and a trusted source of information. I am thinking of the Ukrainian refugees arriving, in particular. We also have a direct provision centre in Wicklow town and the Citizens Information offices are key to them getting that advice and knowing what they need to do to access entitlements and supports. I really ask that the Government prioritises it and that the Minister pass that message on to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. It would be really great to have a timeline as to when those negotiations will be up.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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While it is not my area and I am not fully up to speed on this, I do appreciate that providing services in Arklow and Bray is not the same kind of support for people living in Wicklow town. At the same time, they really have tried to make sure there is as much support available as possible while the service is not immediately available in the town. Arklow Citizens Information centre is open for drop-in callers on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Appointments are also available. Callers can also ring the service Monday to Friday with their queries from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bray Citizens Information centre is open for drop-in callers on Mondays to Thursdays from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. They can also ring with their queries from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are also different types of clinics in Bray including free legal advice, chartered accountants, voluntary advice and a domiciliary care allowance specialist service. I appreciate it is not where people necessarily want it but there is still a lot of service being provided. I think people really have tried to make sure that is available to as many people as possible, particularly those whose service has been closed.

I cannot give the Deputy a timeframe but what I can say is that we all have to work within our budgets. We know that when a budget is set for a particular year, unless there is an underspend it is hard to rearrange that money. What is important in this response is that the Department of Social Protection is working with the CIB and having discussions in respect of future funding. It is looking at it in the context of the CIB's funding for 2022. I hope, as I am sure do the Deputy and those who rely on this service, that it will be successful for this year's funding. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy if she can provide more clarity on the exact timeframe and sequencing of events.