Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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560. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of community welfare officers in each county in tabular form; if she has plans to expand these numbers given the importance of ease of access to a CWO; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23321/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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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 offices, or indeed can be a direct home visit depending on the customer’s need. This ensures that CWOs can work across counties and it is important that the table provided below which outlines staffing by county is read in this light.

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. Activity within the Community Welfare Service (CWS) is closely monitored at all times and resources are deployed as necessary.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

The number of CWOs by county is set out beneath.