Seanad debates

Wednesday, 6 July 2022

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Social Welfare Offices

10:00 am

Photo of Mary FitzpatrickMary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Deputy Troy and commend him on his role as Minister of State with responsibility for trade. He has been doing tremendous work since taking office in building trade relations and expanding Ireland's trade opportunities, which bring employment. I want to discuss the Intreo office on the Navan Road, which served people in the Dublin 7 area who find themselves without employment. While I welcome the Minister of State's presence, it is disappointing that neither the Minister for Social Protection nor the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works found time to come to the House to address this issue.

The Intreo office for Dublin 7 was an important office for those who need it, for those who find themselves having to turn to the State in a time of need. That office was closed unannounced and unceremoniously back in April. There were 40 or 50 people working there, which reflects how busy the office was, and there were no fewer than ten community welfare officers. That shows the type of need for that office in that area. The staff have been relocated to Parnell Street in the centre of town.

The clients who went to that office on a daily and weekly basis have been left with the option of going into town, dealing with queries online or dialling a phone number that just goes unanswered. We have a large elderly community in Dublin 7 and many of them are not online. It is not reasonable for them to be expected to either hang on a phone all day for no answer, to be told to go online as they do not have access and they are not digitally literate, or to truck into town to Parnell Street. There is very little parking on Parnell Street. The Dublin 7 Intreo office on the Navan Road had parking and could accommodate people who have limited mobility and who depend on a car or on a loved one to bring them to the office.

What I am hoping to get today for the people of Dublin 7 is an answer from either the Minister for Social Protection or the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, which manages the building, on a date for a reopening of that office. I hope they have sent the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, with some good news for the people of the area. I know from hearing from people on a daily basis that it is creating great inconvenience for them. On top of the great inconvenience and upset, it is also a huge waste of State resources. That office is in a brand new building and it is lying vacant. I do not understand why any Department would leave an office like that lying vacant, with no date for putting it back into productive use. I hope they have sent the Minister of State with some good news for the people of Dublin 7 and I look forward to his reply.

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The Minister for Social Protection sends her apologies as she could not be here today.

Significant maintenance and upgrade work to the Intreo centre on the Navan Road, Cabra, Dublin 7, had been scheduled for 2022. Plans were put in place for staff to transfer to other Intreo centres for the duration of the work, with arrangements made for customers to be served by King’s Inns Intreo centre, Parnell Street. The work originally planned was premised on no significant changes being made to the services being provided by the Navan Road Intreo centre, the way those services are delivered and the layout of the building. The Senator, like all of us, will be aware of the significant increase in construction and maintenance costs in recent months, including in building supplies. It was decided, therefore, before finalising the works contract, to review the future use of the building at Navan Road to ensure efficient and effective use of resources.

As has been the case with other organisations and services, many customers of the Department of Social Protection have moved to accessing departmental services online over the past two years. This has largely been in response to the social distancing implications brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the fact Intreo centres remained open to the public throughout the pandemic. This had reduced the footfall into the Navan Road centre, including a significant decrease in the attendance of casual customers.

A comprehensive review was undertaken in 2021 of all services and activities delivered by the Department's network of local offices with the purpose of determining the best future operating models for delivering these services and activities. The review identified that significant portions of work that had previously taken place in Intreo centres had been moved to alternative work streams, with the most significant being the processing of payments by the national processing team and the handling of phone and electronic contacts by the national Intreo contact centre. The review also identified substantial benefits for standardising and streamlining work previously replicated across the different local divisions.

As a result of this review, dedicated work streams have been created for control operations, the community welfare service and the employment operations, which includes activation, community employment, Tús and employer engagement. The impact of these changes and the new redistribution of work has given an opportunity for the division of staff working in Intreo offices to focus on vital customer-facing services, front-office services, information services, client identity services, claims maintenance, front-office control, day-to-day branch office interactions and facilities management. With regard to the layout of the Department’s Intreo centres, this means that instead of large waiting areas with rows of seats and multiple hatches, the Department will be providing self-service zones with interactive touchscreens, child-friendly spaces and autism-supportive sensory rooms. The layout will reflect the fact many customers will be there by appointment and, therefore, will not need to queue. The work in the Navan Road Intreo centre had been planned some time ago and it was considered appropriate to pause the works while further consideration was given to the optimal use of the building.

That is the reply I have been asked to share with the Senator today. I understand her frustration regarding the ten community welfare officers who had been working in the area and to phones not being answered.I assure the Senator I will bring back to the Minister and Minister of State the points she has forcefully raised on behalf of the members of her community who depend on Intreo offices. When anything is paused it creates a level of uncertainty which is not good. We need to get certainty for the community in Dublin 7.

Photo of Mary FitzpatrickMary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas. I appreciate what the Minister of State has said and I am not going to shoot the messenger in this instance. I must say, however, that his reply is revealing. It reveals that this had been in planning for a long time and that planning did not include any form of consultation with the clients of the Dublin 7 Intreo office. In fact, it demonstrates a complete disregard for those clients and the area.

The reply referred to a review. Will that review be published and can we have sight of it? Who does it benefit? I do not see any benefit for people who are in need and require some human understanding. That is what people who are in need require. They do not need online self-service portals. They need a bit of human compassion and that is what they go to their community welfare officer for. The day the State forgets what its role is for people in need is the day it is finished.

I ask that the Minister of State to go back to the Minister for Social Protection and ask her to meet me and a delegation from the Dublin 7 area to address this issue. I also ask that he go back to the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office Public Works and suggest that he stop wasting public infrastructure and money by having perfectly good and functioning buildings mothballed. It is a disgrace.

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I know from my dealings with my local Intreo offices and community welfare officers that they do invaluable work. With face-to-face interaction, they are often there to reassure people when they are in a state of despair and in need. It is important that the service is maintained.

It is also fair to recognise that more and more people are moving away towards interacting with State services online. That is just a matter of fact. For those who are unable to interact online, it is important that they should be able to access the services when they need them, a point which the Senator has made very forcefully. I will, as the Senator requested, raise with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donovan, the points she has raised.