Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus tá súil agam go raibh briseadh deas aige don samhradh.

I rise to raise an issue that has been exercising the minds of people in Connemara over the past number of weeks, namely, the transfer of community welfare officers to the Department of Social Protection and their proposed new roles and responsibilities. While people understand the need for change and are not concerned with the proposed change in roles and responsibilities, they are concerned about service provision in their area.

As the Minister of State will be aware, Connemara is a huge geographical area. Services previously provided by community welfare officers in areas such as Carraroe, Tully, Carna, Cill Chiaran and so on are now to be provided from central areas in Galway and Clifden, with people having to travel to these centres to avail of services. In this regard, a number of issues arise. First, many of the people who need to avail of these services are financially challenged. Even if they did have the wherewithal to travel, the public transport system is appalling and there are few connecting services. For example, there is no public transport from the Carna or Cill Chiaran to Clifden, which is a journey of approximately 50 km. This means a person who needs to access services in Clifden will either have to own a car, be dependent on another person for a lift or have to pay for a taxi and so on. This is outside the means of a number of the people who need to avail of these services. The situation is similar in other areas of Connemara. What is the future of these services?

The other issue I wish to raise is a linguistic one. I commend the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, on the opening of a MABS office in Carraroe. The argument for the opening of that office was that the people of the Gaeltacht deserved a service as Gaeilge, which is now being provided. It is a fantastic service, which we welcome. The corollary now is that because of the relocation of services to Clifden and Galway, service provision as Gaeilge to people in the Gaeltacht, which is their right under the Constitution, will not be easily accessible. It is a huge issue. People are worried that the Irish language service provision currently available, which has been traditionally provided by CWOs, will be lost. They are concerned about the removal of services from rural areas and the impact of this on the Aran Islands and Connemara in general.

The Minister has received correspondence on this issue from a number of community groups. There are conflicting reports on it. The Minister indicated to one community group from Ballinahown that she would have the situation investigated. The following day, the Department stated in the media that the decision had already been taken. There appears to be a great deal of confusion around provision of these services. I hope the Minister of State will be in a position to clarify the situation this evening.