Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, I thank Senator Ó Clochartaigh for raising this issue of house calls to social welfare customers in Connemara. The Minister of State is unable to attend today, for which he apologises. He was looking forward to the opportunity to reply to Senator Ó Clochartaigh in Irish.

Before I reply to the Senator, with the permission of the Acting Chairman I wish to welcome students from my local school in Trim, Boyne community school, who are taking the Dáil tour. I think there are a few future politicians among them, either Senators or Deputies. They are all very welcome. It is important that schools have an opportunity to see what goes on in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, is very conscious of the need to provide efficient and effective customer-facing services at a local level for all customers of the Department. I note that Senator Ó Clochartaigh does not like the use of the term "customer", but I think it is a very appropriate term because these are public services and these people are customers. It is better than some of the titles that would have been used in the past. It reminds the departmental staff involved that we are dealing with customers and that they should be treated as customers the same as in any service being offered. In my view it is a good way to look at it but we can have a discussion about it at another time.

Since late 2013, community welfare services in the Connemara area are provided from both the Galway and Clifden offices. Staff based in An Spidéal and An Ceathrú Rua were relocated to Galway city, while services based in Cill Chiaráin were relocated to Clifden. In addition, the frequency of available public clinics was increased to five days per week in Galway city and to three days per week in Clifden. In both locations, anyone wishing to avail of the services of the Department are dealt with in person at the office, by phone, e-mail, postal application or by house call, where necessary. Customers are encouraged to contact the service by phone, e-mail or post in the first instance and in most cases their queries can be addressed without them having to attend a public clinic. If a meeting is necessary, they are usually offered an appointment to come in and meet the officer at a suitable time and date. If the customer cannot come into the office for any valid reason, the officer will call to the customer's home by prior arrangement.

The information required by the Senator on the number of such house calls is currently not available. Officers regularly make calls to customers' homes in the Connemara area for initial applications or for follow-up visits and reviews. I am assured there has been no change in this situation. Anyone who has a requirement for a house call for whatever valid reason is catered for when it is brought to the attention of the relevant officer. If the Senator has knowledge of any specific cases that require a house call, the details can be brought to the attention of the departmental officials.

We all know that some situations will require a house call. When I was a young fellow growing up, my father was a community welfare officer and at that time it was the norm to do house calls. The Senator will appreciate that the provision of services has changed in the past 20 or 30 years, the number of people engaging with those services has increased and, therefore, house calls are no longer the norm. They are common in our job as politicians. However, the reduction in the numbers of departmental staff means it is not possible but, where appropriate, house calls should be undertaken. I ask the Senator to contact the Department if he is aware that house calls were not undertaken and it will be investigated.