Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I will not go into too much detail on this issue as I have already supplied it to the Minister. In my home town of Bantry, social welfare services are operating out of four buildings in different parts of the town. This is most inconvenient for staff and for users of the services. Where sensitive documents have to be transferred from one part of the town to another, it has to be done either by hiring a taxi or a courier. When I was in the other House between 2002 and 2007, it was proposed that a one-stop shop be established in Bantry for all of these services. I accept that the economic climate has changed, but surely something can be done, perhaps by way a short or medium-term lease or a new build, to resolve the logistical and practical difficulties the public is facing in the greater Bantry area. Unfortunately, in these difficult times, significant numbers of people are obliged to avail of these particular services.