Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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901. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of hours a week the CWO is available for meetings with individuals in the Dún Laoghaire office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1441/23]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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902. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way that an individual can best make an appointment to see the CWO in the Dún Laoghaire office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1447/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 901 and 902 together.

The delivery of crucial and locally based community welfare services to meet the challenges and the needs of citizens across the country is a priority for me and for the Department of Social Protection. 

The CWS provides a flexible service to meet the different needs of customers, who may find themselves in a financially difficult or vulnerable situation.  It is important that this service is easily accessible and responsive to customer needs. 

A Community Welfare Officer (CWO) is available to meet with citizens in the Dun Laoghaire Intreo Centre during business hours Monday to Friday.  Alternatively, an appointment with a CWO can be facilitated within a short time of a person requiring such a meeting, at a mutually agreed location, including at the person's home.  Local face-to-face engagement with clients continues to be a cornerstone of the community welfare service.  This aspect of the service remains in place and will not change.

It is important to mention that a person does not need to meet with a CWO to make a claim and any person who needs to access the CWS can call the National Contact Phoneline number at 0818 60 70 80, to make an appointment or to speak directly to a CWO.  A person can speak with a CWO over the phone if they do not wish to travel to meet with a CWO in person.  CWOs working on the phoneline are dealing with approx. 1,700 callers per week.

If an application is urgent, every effort is made to ensure the person receives a payment on the same day.  CWOs are very experienced and can consequently generally assess when a case is so urgent that it  requires an immediate response. 

A person can apply for a Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) payment by completing a SWA1 form, which is widely available.  It can be downloaded at www.gov.ie.   It is available in all Intreo Centres and Branch Offices.  It can be requested by emailing cwsforms@welfare.ie or by calling 0818 60 70 80.  Customers can also request a SWA1 form by using the Request Application Form page available on www.gov.ie. 

A completed application form together with any supporting documentation can be returned directly to my Department where the claim will be processed quickly.

I trust this clarifies the matter.