Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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722. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of community welfare officers per county; the number for the past three years per county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3132/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The delivery of vital locally based Community Welfare Services (CWS) to meet the challenges and the needs of citizens across the country is a priority for me and for my Department. The Community Welfare Service provides a flexible service to meet the different needs of people, who may find themselves in a financially difficult or vulnerable situation. It is a priority that this service is easily accessible and responsive to our client’s needs.

Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) are physically on site daily in over 50 Intreo Centres across the country where they are available without an appointment, during business hours, Monday to Friday. In addition to meeting people in Intreo Centres and Department of Social Protection offices, CWOs can facilitate an appointment within a short time of a person requiring such a meeting, at a mutually agreed location, including at the person's home. This reflects my commitment to continue to support the delivery of locally based services.

The number of CWOs engaged in the delivery of CWS nationwide from October 2022 to December 2024 are as follows:

While local face-to-face engagement with people continues to be a cornerstone of the community welfare service, it is important to mention that a person does not need to meet with a CWO to make an application and any person who needs to access the CWS can call the National CWS freephone 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. This service is used by customers in rural areas in particular, who can have their needs met without the requirement to travel.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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723. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of functions previously carried out by community welfare officers which now have been centralised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3133/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Community Welfare Service is committed to providing a quality service to all citizens, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. It is a key service providing Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance payments, Additional Needs Payments, Rent and other supplement supports.

Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) are physically on site daily in over 50 Intreo Centres across the country where they are available without an appointment, during business hours, Monday to Friday. In addition to meeting people in Intreo Centres and Department of Social Protection offices, CWOs can facilitate an appointment within a short time of a person requiring such a meeting, at a mutually agreed location, including at the person's home. This reflects my commitment to continue to support the delivery of locally based services.

To deal efficiently with the volume of claims being received and to ensure a consistent level of service, local Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) are supported by a network of national administration support teams based in seven ‘hubs’ located around the country. These hubs take on routine administrative tasks associated with claim processing which frees up front-line CWOs to deal directly with people and their claims and allows them to respond to any other events or incidents that arise.

The Community Welfare Service support hubs continue to play a vital role in the response to priority projects, including supporting people arriving from Ukraine, dealing with the ongoing increase in international protection applicants and providing Humanitarian Assistance during and after adverse weather events.

There are no delays in any of the support hubs and all claims received into a hub are made ready for decision as quickly as possible. They are then returned to the locally based CWOs within a short time for decision. There are no backlogs and work on hand is within normal CWS processing levels. Where the required claim application forms and documentation are supplied, claims are sent to local CWOs on the same day. Where it has been identified that a person has an urgent or immediate need, regardless of whether they have provided all the required documentation, these claims are referred immediately to a CWO. The hubs play a very important part in ensuring that decisions on entitlement are made without delay.

I trust this clarifies the matter.