Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. On a number of occasions in the Seanad, I have referred to the high level of unemployment nationally, particularly in my county, Donegal. County Donegal had been experiencing a recession for many decades before the national recession. Donegal had the highest level of unemployment, at approximately 18%, which was three or four times above the national average. In the past year, there has been a considerable increase in the number of people made redundant in Donegal. There has been a 58% increase in the past year alone. This represents an increase of almost 5,000 people, from 8,321 to 13,145. In Donegal, 100 people are losing their jobs every week. This figure is based on the last census but, since that census was carried out, companies have been closing down for Christmas and are not sure whether they will reopen. The council has announced there are to be 238 redundancies among council staff. This leads to one big problem, that is, access to social welfare payments in the county.

There is no way that the social welfare service that has been in place until recently, which service was adequate and could issue benefits to those in need of them in reasonable time, can deal with the increase in demand. Some 5,000 people have lost their jobs over the space of a year and, therefore, some adjustments are required. The crisis point was when the social welfare office in Letterkenny had to close its doors to the public so its staff could catch up on some work. There needs to be a redeployment of staff to the Donegal area.

A number of social welfare offices are under serious pressure. The Minister of Social and Family Affairs answered a parliamentary question stating the average waiting time in Letterkenny is five and a half weeks and that in Buncrana it is three and a half weeks, but the reality on the ground is somewhat different. I do not dispute the average figures but they are only averages. I spoke to someone last week who has been waiting for a social welfare payment for seven weeks. He has been unemployed for the past 12 weeks and, for whatever reason, it took him five weeks to claim his benefit. He has had no support for 12 weeks from the Department of Social and Family Affairs. That is unsustainable. When one loses one's job, the bills do not stop coming in and the mortgage payments must still be made. There needs to be a mechanism to deal with the problem more efficiently and effectively.

It is not just a question of those who have become unemployed and who need to avail of the social welfare service to receive their payments, we must also consider the staff in the social welfare offices, who are under considerable pressure. The 5,000 additional people who have become unemployed and those who may become unemployed in Donegal next week have sustained our economy in the good times. They built the economy and contributed to the Celtic tiger. It is very disrespectful to them that their social welfare entitlements are not forthcoming in a speedy manner and that they have to wait so long.

Four new positions are to be created in the social welfare offices in the Donegal region. I am not an expert but my feeling is that, with 5,000 additional people availing of the social welfare service — this week we heard of 238 job losses in the county council and of a factory in trouble — four people will not be able to deal with the demand. I ask the Minister to consider this case compassionately. Although the wage bill would be increased by employing extra staff in the social welfare offices, doing so would be the correct and respectful approach given that social welfare recipients need their money most in the run-up to Christmas.

I am sure the Minister will be well aware that a company in Donegal has let its staff go for the month of December. The workers are very concerned about whether they will receive any entitlements from the social welfare office by Christmas. We are all human and want to buy presents for our children, parents, wives and husbands. It is not right that the workers should be concerned. They are entitled to their payments, which will be back-dated at some stage. While I understand we are living in unique times, we need to pull out all the stops to address this matter.

One person entitled to community welfare support showed me his cheque last week and it amounted to €28. I asked another person about his payment but he said he was not entitled to it due to anomalies associated with the requirement to work for 32 hours. I will not elaborate on that because it is another matter. The matter in question is that staff are required in counties such as Donegal, which has experienced a considerable increase in the number signing on, such that those entitled to social welfare supports can avail of them.