Michael McCarthy (Labour)
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I thank the Seanad staff and particularly the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this matter. I welcome the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Cullen. This is the second occasion on which I have raised this matter on the Adjournment. I have made numerous representations to the Minister, and colleagues in the Dáil have raised the matter on my behalf. This is of the utmost importance to the people of Dunmanway, and I cannot stress that enough. Dunmanway has been forgotten for years by successive Governments and has lacked support and investment because of that. Nevertheless we have a strong community spirit, and the community and the local authority have just published an ambitious strategic plan for the town's future that sets out a broad blueprint on where the town should be going regarding strategic investment and infrastructure. There is a very strong air of confidence there, which had been lacking for many years.

The social welfare office closed last July because of the untimely death of the branch manager and it has not reopened. In an era of decentralisation we must ensure as many services as possible are retained in rural towns such as Dunmanway, which is the geographical centre point of west Cork. BIM and the Department of Transport are in Clonakilty or on their way there. It is important that a service such as this that is connected with an arm of the State is retained in one of the towns near the location of decentralisation. The office has not reopened since its temporary closure last July. A number of other offices in other west Cork towns have had to process claims from Dunmanway. There is no difficulty with accommodation. The premises from which the office used to operate is still available and there is no question of accommodation being a difficulty.

The Minister will not admit it here this evening but it is creating difficulties for other offices in other towns that have had to deal with it. It also creates difficulty for people who have to travel from Dunmanway to other west Cork towns to process their claims. There is no DART service. There is a bus service, but it is not convenient for people who want their social welfare claims processed. There is no readily available public transport that can get them in and out of other towns in a reasonable timeframe.

As a result of the closure three jobs have been lost. We had a manufacturing facility from the 1970s up to the late 1990s when, sadly, it closed with the loss of 120 jobs that have never been replaced. While three jobs might not sound like much in the national scheme, in an area like this is it very important. The people of the area, those who worked in the office before and others who have an interest in that want the office reopened and the service retained. Can the Minister assure us this office will be reopened for the people of Dunmanway?

I thank the Acting Chairman for taking this Adjournment matter and the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Cullen, for being present. This service is needed and must be retained in the area. The office must be reopened. There is no difficulty in competition for the contract or accommodation. There is a strong spirit and appetite locally for this office to be reopened and I appeal to the Minister to look favourably on this matter.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator McCarthy for raising this important issue. As he said, many of my colleagues from both Houses from the area have raised this issue with me in the recent past. I understand the importance of the office and its impact locally, particularly on our customers. The Department delivers a front-line service to its customers through a network of 59 local offices and 66 branch offices countrywide. The main services provided from these offices include jobseekers' payments, one-parent family payment and a customer information service. The 59 local offices are staffed by departmental staff and the branch offices are run by branch managers who are employed under a contract for service by the Department to administer certain social welfare services to members of the public in their catchment areas.

As explained to the Seanad previously, due to the sad and untimely death of the branch manager in Dunmanway arrangements had to be put in place immediately to ensure continuity of service to customers. All claims originally catered for in Dunmanway were transferred to the Department's office in Bantry as an interim arrangement to ensure that payments were not interrupted. The number of customers involved was approximately 350 and arrangements were subsequently made to distribute the claims between five neighbouring branch offices in Bandon, Bantry, Clonakilty, Macroom and Skibbereen.

In cases where customers are living more than 16 km from their designated branch office, their signing arrangements were changed to quarterly signing as opposed to the normal monthly signing arrangements. This means that these customers need only call to the branch office once every three months. Service to customers has not been interrupted by these arrangements and payments are continuing as they fall due. It is open to people residing in the Dunmanway catchment area who become unemployed to make a claim for jobseekers' benefit or allowance at any of our offices convenient to them.

It is open to people residing in the Dunmanway catchment area who become unemployed to make a claim for jobseeker's benefit at any of our offices convenient to them. Customers claiming illness benefit can forward medical certificates direct to the illness benefit section in Dublin, or to any local office or branch office. There is a social welfare inspector located in Dunmanway and this service is being maintained. The office of the inspector is open to the public on Tuesday mornings and deals with any information queries.

A strategic review of customer-facing services is being undertaken this year, as provided for in the Department's modernisation action plan. The purpose of this review is to determine what services will be delivered in the Department's front-line environment in the future. This review is being undertaken to identify the range of the Department's customer-facing services and related activities that would be most appropriately delivered in a front-line environment, the locations from which these services would be best delivered, and the layout of the offices that would enable optimum delivery of these services.

Having considered the nature and extent of future customer facing services, the terms of reference for this review provide for recommendations on the criteria used to determine the locations in which the Department should have a local office or branch office presence. The position on the branch office in Dunmanway will be considered in the light of the outcome of this review. I say that genuinely to the Senator. There is a review taking place at the moment and I am obliged to take account of what has happened in Dunmanway. I would like to bring it to a resolution as quickly as possible.

Michael McCarthy (Labour)
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When does the Minister hope the review will be completed and when can a decision be made on the Dunmanway office?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I do not have the information on when the review will be finished. It is being carried out across the country, but it will be finished this year obviously. I am acutely aware of the issue in Dunmanway.