Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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625. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if there is an issue with the dedicated phone lines for Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas to access illness benefit sections in view of the fact that they are not contactable at the moment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43314/18]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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628. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a number of regular recipients of illness benefit are not receiving weekly payments; the measures being taken to address the payment disruptions in view of the fact that delayed payments cause distress for persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43317/18]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 625 and 628 together.

My Department recently moved to a new IT system and this has impacted on payments to some illness benefit, IB, customers. The transition has involved moving from a payment in arrears system to a real-time system for IB.

The Department acknowledges that this move has caused difficulties for some customers leading to a large volume of calls to its helpline and long delays in responding to calls, including those from members of the Oireachtas.  In order to address this issue, the Department has deployed additional staff to manage calls from customers and from Oireachtas members.

I want to assure the Deputy that all IB customers will be paid the correct amount for the period of their illness - as certified by their GP.Any customer who has an urgent financial need can apply to the Department's Community Welfare Service to receive an interim payment. Customers in these circumstances should get in touch with their local Intreo Centre.

My Department is working hard to resolve these payment issues as quickly as possible.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.