Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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64. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which adequate personnel remain available throughout his Department to ensure a speedy seamless process for dealing with all applications for various payments including means testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17846/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department, like all Government departments and agencies, is required to operate within a staff ceiling figure and a commensurate administrative staffing budget, which for this Department has involved reductions in staff numbers.

The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the ongoing need to respond to new and increasing demands in a wide range of services. This is 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 the Department.