Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department delivers a front-line service through a network of 60 local offices and 65 branch offices countrywide. The 60 local offices are staffed by departmental staff. The 65 branch offices are run by private individuals who are employed under a contract for service by my department to administer social welfare services, with the exception of claims decisions, to members of the public in their catchment area. The branch manager is required to provide suitable premises and adequate staffing to deal with claim load. Each branch office reports to a parent office where decisions on branch office claims are made. The branch office in Edenderry reports to the local office in Mullingar

The Department is currently in the process of providing a replacement for a part time inspector in the Edenderry office, who recently retired. In the meantime support is provided from the Tullamore Office and any delays currently being experienced at Edenderry are of a temporary nature. My Department is making every effort to ensure that they are kept to a minimum.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department delivers a front-line service through a network of 60 local offices and 65 branch offices countrywide. The main services provided from these offices include jobseekers payments, one-parent family payment and a customer information service. The 60 local offices are staffed by departmental staff. The 65 branch offices are run by private individuals who are employed under a contract for service by my Department to administer social welfare services, with the exception of claim decisions, to members of the public in their catchment area. The branch manager is required to provide suitable premises and adequate staffing to deal with the claim load. Each branch office reports to a parent local office where decisions on branch office claims are made. Portlaoise branch office reports to the local office in Kilkenny.

The Live Register for Portlaoise currently stands at 1,593. This is an increase of almost 70% on the figure for May 2007 (929) which is significantly higher than the national increase of approximately 27% over the same period. The Portlaoise office is currently staffed by five staff and the Branch Manager is satisfied that this number is adequate to meet local demand. The branch manager has spent some €60,000 recently in upgrading the office to improve the physical environment and introduced a range of measures to improve customer service. In addition, staff in Kilkenny local office are working overtime to deal with the increased volume of claims from Portlaoise.

My Department recently commissioned a customer service survey of all local and branch offices in the South East Region, which includes Portlaoise. The survey report, which issued in April 2008, made a number of recommendations on measures to be taken to improve customer service generally. Regional management in the South East Region is currently working with offices in the region with a view to implementing the recommendations in the report.