Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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320. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of community welfare officers in the past five years by county in tabular form; if there are plans to increase the number of community welfare officers in view of rising energy prices, inflation and increasing needs from Ukrainian refugees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18938/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Given the fluctuation in demand for the Community Welfare Service (CWS), particularly during the pandemic when resources were allocated to areas where they were most needed, staffing numbers within locations changed frequently. Therefore the information requested by the Deputy is not readily available. The current CWS staff numbers and vacancies are outlined in the tables below. Work is underway to fill the vacancies which have arisen through staff retirements and staff moving to other Departments. Activity within the CWS is closely monitored at all times and resources are deployed as necessary.

It is important to note that as part of my continued commitment to improve the CWS across the country, customers no longer have to meet in person with a CWO in order to make a claim. This change means that those who require community welfare assistance urgently no longer need to wait to visit a clinic if they do not wish to. These initiatives that I have put in place will ensure that the service is easily accessible and responsive to customer needs, particularly in a time of crisis or emergency.

The CWS remains a flexible service to meet the varied needs of vulnerable customers. For this reason, consultations can be arranged via phone, at our office or, indeed can be a direct home visit depending on the customer’s need.

It is vital that the CWS is easily accessible and responsive to customer needs and developing and enhancing access to the service remains my priority.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Tabular statement

Table 1 - The number of CWOs by county

Table 2 - The number of CWO vacancies by county