Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this issue. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Hoctor, to the House. There has been a significant increase in the number of people claiming social welfare payments. This exponential increase is affecting those seeking assistance and the staff of our social welfare offices. I pay tribute to the staff in question, who are very personable, honourable and up-front, by and large, as they help people. They are a pleasure to work with and work for. The manner in which social welfare claims are processed is a matter of great concern to everyone involved in public life because it has an impact on people.

I would like to paint a picture for the House in that regard. A constituent of mine, who I do not wish to name, recently e-mailed me to explain his frustration in this area. He stated:

I was let go two weeks ago and signed on. I rang the social welfare office and they said that there is a six week backlog. How am I to survive with no money for the next month? It is a disgrace. My rent is due next week. Luckily I have enough to cover that. After that I have nothing — I mean nothing. So many people are in the same boat. The Government needs to act swiftly to help people this Christmas and emergency staff need to be brought in to clear the back log over the next ten days. This has to be done. What sort of Christmas will the people of Ireland have?

The man who sent me that e-mail is one of many ordinary citizens who are suffering the indignity of losing their jobs and having to sign on. I had the unpleasant experience of having to sign on in 1986 and 1987. I had to go to hatch 4 in the old labour exchange in Cork to claim a miserly £49 a week.

In response to a recent Dáil question tabled by my colleague, Deputy Enright, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin, said that an additional 115 staff, at clerical and staff officer level, are to be assigned to these duties and arrangements are to be put in place for them. Looking at the data supplied, it seems that not one of the 115 staff in question has been assigned to the city of Cork. I am open to correction on that, and if I am wrong, I will stand corrected. As things stand, people have to endure a six-week interregnum.

When I spoke on the telephone with a very nice person in the social welfare office in Cork, I was informed that people waiting for their welfare payments to be processed should contact their local community welfare office for assistance. That is not good enough in this day and age. As the number of people claiming social welfare benefit increases, more and more people are suffering under pressure. Fundamentally, we are dealing with people, women and men, some of whom have families, are single or are separated. Does it suffice to tell such people that there is a six-week minimum interregnum before they can get any money or help?

I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's response. I hope she will have good news for people. As we approach Christmas week, we need to help people by reallocating more staff to work on the processing of payments. I have read from a heartfelt e-mail written by a man who had a job until he lost it a month ago. He wants to get on in life, but he is suffering. It is more than disappointing that we treat such people with disrespect in some cases — it is a disgrace and it is outrageous. I do not subscribe to the view that all Ministers are so out of touch that they do not know what is happening. It is clear from some of the comments she has made in other forums that the Minister of State, Deputy Hoctor, certainly knows what is happening. I appeal to the humanity of Ministers who can help people in the circumstances to which I have referred. Such people deserve to be treated properly by the State.

Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I appreciate the context of the reply. There is a five-month delay in the processing of additional staff. While I appreciate that this is not the Minister of State's Department, I ask her to impress on the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, the need to help hard-pressed people who are under siege, especially as we approach Christmas week. I am sure there are similar cases in the Minister of State's constituency. We have let people down. The reply refers to May or June of this year. For five or six months no resources have been put in place despite the promise and rhetoric. However, I thank the Minister of State for the reply.

Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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The Senator is probably also aware of the availability of resources through the community welfare officer who will always ensure people do not endure hardship in the interim before the claim is properly processed. I am obviously speaking to the converted here, but that is another area. Nevertheless, I will address this issue and bring it to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, on the Senator's behalf.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State.