Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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849. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department has a policy of writing to social welfare payment recipients and asking them to change their method of payment from collection at their local post office to electronic fund transfer with their bank; if correspondence from the postmaster (details supplied) has been brought to her attention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13789/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department has not issued any letters to its customers requesting them to switch their payment method from cash collection at a post office to payment by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) into their account in a financial institution.

My Department provides two main payment options for its customers: payment in cash at post offices or payment directly into customer accounts by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). Last year, 70% of all Social Welfare payments were made by EFT and 29.5% were by cash collection at post offices. A small number of ad hoc payments were also made by cheque, which represented 0.5% of all payments.

Customers are offered a choice of payment method for most Social Welfare schemes and their wishes are facilitated where they choose to receive their social welfare payment at a post office. This is a matter of customer choice and preference and my Department has a duty to inform customer's of their rights. However, for control reasons, choice of payment method is restricted for a small number of Social Welfare schemes.

During the Covid pandemic, the rules governing choice of payment method for Social Welfare schemes were greatly relaxed. Customers who previously were required to collect their payment from a post office were given the option to receive their Social Welfare payment directly into an account in a financial institution, whether that be a bank, a credit union or An Post.

This was done to help customers comply with health guidelines on social distancing. The rules around payment collection by an agent were also relaxed.

As the pandemic receded, pre-Covid rules were reinstated on a phased basis. This has led to a migration of Jobseeker payments back to post offices over the last year. There is also currently a review of agent arrangements for customers in receipt of Carer's Allowance payments.

The reinstatement of cash collection at a post office as the default payment method for Jobseekers has resulted in an increase of almost 25% in the number of Jobseeker payments transacted by An Post in the last year.

The current review of agent collection arrangements for those people in receipt of a Carer’s Allowance payment has involved my Department writing out to customers to check whether they still require an agent to collect their post office payment. In the vast majority of cases, these customers have told my officials that they no longer need an agent and can continue to collect their payment themselves at a post office. A very small number of customers have indicated that they still require an agent.

Any carer not able to collect their payment at a post office could indicate an inability to provide care. For this reason, the use of an agent is only allowed in exceptional circumstances. All customers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance who had an agent were also given the option to have their payment made directly into an account in a financial institution.

Payment by EFT is permitted for the Carer's Allowance Social Welfare scheme and my Department has a responsibility to ensure that customers are made aware of all of the payments options available to them.

It is not proposed to limit the freedom of Social Welfare customers to be paid directly at a post office. Neither is it Departmental policy to advise or encourage customers to favour one financial institution over another.

With the exception of a small number of schemes, due to control reasons, my Department remains committed to providing social welfare recipients with a choice of payment method. My Department will respect customer choice as appropriate and make payments in line with customer preference where choice is available.

I am aware of the correspondence from the postmaster (details supplied) and can confirm that my officials have contacted this individual directly to explain the situation.