Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 November 2012
358. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection the proposed changes to the delivery of the community welfare service in the Drumcondra area, Dublin 9; and the way these changes will directly affect local residents in receipt of the community welfare service. [49639/12]
View answerFollowing the integration of the former community welfare service into my Department efficiencies have been achieved which allow for a reconfiguration of how services within the area concerned are delivered. This area is serviced by the new Intreo office at Kings Inns St and developments there have reduced the extent to which supplementary welfare allowance has been paid in cases where people have made applications for both jobseekers allowance and benefit. This has reduced the compliance impact for clients and eliminated duplication that was previously a feature of the process. Additionally it has allowed former community welfare officers become involved in the Intreo process, including in activation case management to enhance our clients’ employability and life chances.
To further consolidate this we are moving to a system where a number of community welfare units will operate together out of one location, in this instance the Marino Health Centre. This will allow us to offer an ongoing service with the equivalent availability to the public as the previous arrangements system and this will be kept under review to ensure that such availability is proportionate to our clients’ requirements.
The effect that this will have on local residents is that some clients will have to travel a longer distance to reach the Health Centre, and others a shorter distance but a more consistently-resourced service will be available at the consolidated location in Marino.
This new service will be fully operational in Marino Health Centre from Tuesday 20th November 2012.
