Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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293. To ask the Minister for Social Protection to set out the measures in place for the protection of staff in her Department's offices; if glass partitions are always provided; the training and support provided to staff to deal with customers who become physically or verbally aggressive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16268/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department takes its responsibilities very seriously and acts in accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005. The Department conducts ongoing and regular reviews of risk assessments, in line with the general principles of prevention, as set out in Health and Safety obligations regarding safety, health and welfare of its staff.

Safety control measures are put in place to protect staff where risks are identified as a result of ongoing risk assessments, including risks in relation to intimidation or aggression. For example, many offices have panic buttons and CCTV, and some also have security guards present. In some cases, glass dividers are provided at specific customer facing points.

In addition, specific training is provided, with particular reference to dealing with difficult customers. Training in Non Violent Crisis Intervention is provided to equip staff to deal with a range of customer service skills including how to deal with difficult or aggressive customers at the frontline. This training programme has been delivered to 1,544 staff to date.

Staff are also reminded to report any incidents of health and safety to the Department’s Health and Safety Unit. In addition, the Employee Assistance Service (EAS) is a support service available to all staff on a confidential basis. In the event of an incident, the EAS would ordinarily be contacted and asked to make contact with the individual(s) affected by any incident. Typically, the Employee Assistance Officer would offer to visit the location and assist the staff concerned.