Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I will reply to this Adjournment debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. The Department of Social and Family Affairs is committed to providing a quality customer service. That involves ensuring that applications are processed and decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible, having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply. The number of claims being made by jobseekers throughout the country has increased significantly since the beginning of the year. Some 442,393 claims were received in the week that ended on 12 December 2008. As 296,217 claims were received at the equivalent time in 2007, the level of claims has increased by over 66%.

Every effort is being made to process as quickly as possible claims that are awaiting decision in Cork city and county. There is a focus on the prioritisation of work and the assignment of additional resources, including staffing and overtime. In recent weeks, a central unit has been established in Dublin, with staff being diverted from other work, to maximise the number of claims that can be paid before Christmas. There is a concentration on those offices with the highest volumes of claims awaiting decision. Some claims from the Cork area are being decided in this unit. Processing times vary between offices. The overall performance of any office in processing claims can be adversely affected by a wide variety of factors, including increased inflow of claims, staff vacancies and the duration of such vacancies and the turnover of staff in the office.

On foot of the increased number of claims for jobseeker payments, the Department undertook a review of staffing levels in local offices in May and June of this year. The review resulted in the assignment of 31 additional staff to 15 local offices. Following the most recent review of staffing levels in local offices, it has been decided to assign 115 additional staff to such offices. The separate staffing exercise that was carried out in Cork took into account the opening of a new office in Carrigaline. The personnel section of the Department of Social and Family Affairs is sourcing staff for the offices in Cork and other local offices. Additional staff will not be recruited to the Civil Service to fill the identified shortfall in social welfare local offices. Staff will be sourced from within the Department of Social and Family Affairs and other Departments. Every effort is being made by the Department to bring the staff numbers in the Cork and Carrigaline offices up to the required levels, thereby ensuring that delays in processing claims are kept to an absolute minimum.