Vol. 404 No. 5
14 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Social Welfare if a timetable has been set to meet the commitment given in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress to modernise and improve accommodation and facilities for social welfare clients around the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
26 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he has satisfied himself with the physical condition of all employment exchanges; the location of any exchange which he considers inadequate; the proposals he has to remedy the situation; and if he would make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 26 together.
I am engaged in a building programme to provide new offices and to improve existing ones to ensure that all the Department's local offices will measure up to a high standard in the quality of facilities available for the public and staff alike. There is no set timetable for completing this programme but it is being advanced as quickly as financial and technical resources will allow. Considerable progress has been made in recent years with a total of 15 new social welfare services offices provided and extensive refurbishment carried out to ten others. At present work on a further two new offices, at Ennis and Limerick, is nearing completion. In addition, two major decentralised offices have been opened, at Sligo and Letterkenny, and a new social welfare appeals office has been provided in Dublin.
I am determined that the progress already made in improving the standard of my Department's offices will be maintained. I am examining proposals for a number of new offices to replace existing accommodation and extend services to new areas. My immediate priorities include new offices at Tallaght, Navan Road and Finglas in Dublin and in Kilkenny. New offices will be constructed in Wexford and Longford as part of the proposed decentralisation projects planned for these towns. Work on the Dublin offices mentioned and the new Kilkenny office is scheduled to commence this year.
In addition to the new offices, it is planned to commence extensive refurbishment work this year to the Department's offices in Athlone, Carlow, Cavan, Mullingar and Werburgh Street, Dublin.
Accommodation needs are not static. They are influenced by a variety of factors, including the demand on services in particular areas and developing trends in service provision. I have asked my Department to keep the position under constant review so that we can respond to emerging needs.
It is quite clear, given that this very clause has been inserted in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress, that the social partners feel that the conditions prevailing at employment exchanges are not good. Having regard to the fact that there are 53 employment exchanges and 79 branch offices would the Minister not agree that we still have a long way to go? Improvements are being made, as the Minister indicated at between 20 and 25 of these offices but this is insignificant given the overall numbers. Furthermore, many unemployed people feel both humiliated and degraded and are of the view that the offices are filthy and more often than not there is no privacy in dealing with officials. In conclusion, would the Minister confirm that it is his intention to upgrade all the exchanges as quickly as possible so that they will be far more than just employment exchanges? At present one does not go there to look for information on jobs but rather in respect of unemployment benefits. They should be both an employment exchange where information on jobs is available and also an information office where recipients of the dole can have their entitlements and benefits outlined. They should be more than just places——
I think the Deputy has made his point effectively.
——where people are dehumanised in terrible surroundings by virtue of the fact that they are unemployed.
I am particularly happy that the social partners have taken an interest in the development and improvement of our offices throughout the country and that a reference to this matter is included in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress. As the House can see, a great deal of progress has been made in this area recently. Indeed, many people now come from abroad to look at some of our major offices, such as the pensions office, which is an interesting development. I disagree with the Deputy who said that what we have been doing is insignificant, rather it is very significant. During the past three to four years I have been very conscious of the need to refurbish and rebuild offices——
If it is so significant why is a reference to it contained in the programme?
Let us hear the Minister.
When the Deputy has been around here for a little longer he will realise that it is very reassuring for a Minister to find such reference included in a programme.
May I ask the Minister a question on a subject which is very close to my heart, that is the question of privacy and form filling in public offices, in this case Social Welfare offices? Can the Minister give us any indication of when we will reach the day, if ever, when an applicant who has to complete a form for any type of social welfare benefit can do so in private and that everybody standing either behind or around them will not be able to hear their most intimate personal details?
That has been achieved in our new modern offices where facilities of high quality are provided. Indeed, I would be very happy to show the Deputy around some of these premises should he so wish.
I would appreciate that.
It comes down therefore to a question of pressing ahead with the programme as quickly as possible. I am very anxious to do this as resources permit.
Would the Minister agree that the conditions prevailing at Garda barracks where huge numbers of people have to sign on are the worst? Would he also not agree that because there is often only room for, say, two people, many have to queue outside in the elements where the Department's inspector may arrive to examine people's hands to see if they have been working? We need to look at that aspect as well as at the offices owned by the Department of Social Welfare.
As I said earlier, we are trying to get as many people as possible out of that situation. Quite a number of Garda barracks around the country have been upgraded under a separate programme drawn up by the Minister for Justice——
Quite a few have not.
——but I accept that the position in relation to some of the smaller ones is different. Normally, the Department's inspectors try to hold these interviews in a separate place. This is what we are trying to encourage.
That disposes of questions for today.
