Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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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.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I thank Senator Ó Clochartaigh for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton.

The staffing needs for all areas within the Department of Social Protection are continuously reviewed to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by that Department. This includes meeting commitments under the Pathways to Work programme to provide opportunities, support and assistance to the approximately 420,000 people on the live register by intensifying the Department's level of engagement with people who are unemployed and, in particular, those who are, or become, long-term unemployed.

In the coming months, up to 20 staff drawn primarily from the Department's community welfare services, social welfare inspectors and community services will take up new roles as activation case officers in County Galway. These changes, which are largely predicated on the rationalisation of the community welfare service clinics, will increase activation case officer numbers in the county from 13 to 33 staff. It was in this context that a decision was made to relocate community welfare services from Connemara to Galway city and Clifden. Staff based in An Spideal and An Ceathru Rua will relocate to Galway city while services based in Cill Chiaran will relocate to Clifden. The relocation will take effect from 30 September 2013. The Minister is very conscious of the need to provide efficient and effective customer-facing services at a local level for customers of the Department. Customers in these areas will be encouraged to contact the service by phone, e-mail or post in the first instance and, in most cases, their queries will be answered without them having to attend a public clinic in Galway city or Clifden.

As part of the relocation of community welfare services to Galway city and Clifden, the frequency of available public clinics is being increased to five days per week in the case of Galway and to three days per week in the case of Clifden. The number of staff available to these clinics will be increased, giving customers improved access to services there. If a customer is unable to travel to Galway city or Clifden, for example due to illness, an officer will arrange a visit to the customer's home if necessary. The community welfare service on the Aran Islands is currently provided by an officer from the Department who is based in Galway city and who travels to the islands as required. It is likely that this will continue to be the case in the future. Customers on the Aran Islands can also contact the community welfare service in Galway by phone, e-mail or post if required.

The Department of Social Protection is conscious of its obligations under the Official Languages Act and is committed to providing a service through Irish to customers. There are currently a number of staff in the offices covering the Connemara Gaeltacht who provide a service through Irish and this will continue to be the case. The relocation of services coincides with greater integration between the community welfare service and other locally-based staff of the Department. This process will be further enhanced by the roll-out of a full Intreo service to Clifden later this year and to Galway city next year.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. While I appreciate he is taking this matter on behalf of his colleague, it is unacceptable to the community in Connemara that these services are being removed from the area. Many customers will be unable to travel to Galway city or Clifden, not due to illness but for financial reasons. It is essential they are able to avail of services in their areas.

I ask that the Minister of State relay to the Minister, Deputy Burton, that this decision needs to be reviewed. It is not workable on the ground or practicable. While it might result in savings for the Department it will place a huge burden on the people living in the areas concerned.