Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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673. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if it is compulsory that jobseeker's benefits are paid through the post office and the reason for same; if there are circumstances in which a client may opt to have payments made to a bank account; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38245/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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In line with the Department’s control policy, it is normal practice to pay jobseekers benefit and jobseekers allowance customers in the local post office. An exception may be made in certain circumstances where there may be difficulty in accessing the post office during normal working hours, such as while a person is undertaking a course of study under the Back To Education Programme, or while partaking of an internship under the Work Placement Programme or National Internship Programme. In these cases, payment may be made by electronic fund transfer directly into the customer’s bank account.

The Department’s future Payment Strategy, which was recently approved by Government, envisages a payments environment which is fully electronic and builds on current approaches to modernise the payment of welfare benefits. The Department recognises the importance of modernising welfare payment methods to our customers and to the wider Irish economy. The strategy is in line with wider Government policies and objectives on better public services and more effective e-payments, as set out in the Public Service Reform Plan and the eGovernment Strategy 2012-2015 and is aligned to the objectives of the recently published National Payments Plan. The migration to e-payments will be a gradual process and will be developed, implemented and achieved with strategies that complement and enhance the Department's fraud and control policies.