Vol. 443 No. 7
10 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason his Department has failed to date to provide a freefone telephone number to the public, in view of his desire to improve the accessibility of his Department to the public; and the steps, if any, he will take to encourage such access, especially in view of the fact that the only Department that is providing such a freefone service to the public is the Department of the Marine in relation to safety at sea.
My Department provides a comprehensive information service at local and regional level through its extensive network of offices throughout the country. This locally-based service is supported by a central information section which employs a wide variety of methods to ensure that customers are aware of the full range of services available to them and of any improvements or new services introduced from time to time.
Methods used in this regard include the issue of detailed information leaflets and booklets relating to specific schemes, constant broadcasting of a wide selection of general information on Aertel and extensive advertising in local and national media.
The selective use of free phone services is also availed of from time to time to advise on new schemes or improvements to existing schemes. For example, a free phone service is currently in operation to help customers who require information or application forms relating to the new survivor's pension which will come into operation later this year and will, for the first time, entitle widowers to a contributory pension on the same basis as widows.
In general, it is found that the vast majority of people availing of our information services require specific details relating to their individual needs. Queries of this nature can be satisfactorily dealt with only by reference to the individual case file and, therefore, the use of a centralised free phone service would not be the most effective method of dealing with such cases.
