Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 October 2019
41. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the details of her plans to implement a new front office-back office model in Intreo offices; the effect the changes will have for existing offices and staffing levels in the offices; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43654/19]
View answerWill the Minister set out the details of her plans to introduce a new front office-back office model in Intreo offices and the effect those changes will have for existing offices and staffing levels within those offices?
Front office-back office is a new operating model currently being introduced which seeks to make the best use of our resources by balancing workloads across our Intreo office network. The new model utilises recent ICT developments that have removed the location constraints of the previous paper-based system. Those constraints meant that the majority of claim-related activity had to be physically performed within the local Intreo centre. Under the front office-back office model, the core front office functions in which the majority of staff are engaged, including claim reception and registration, identity verification, employment services, community welfare services and control activity, continue to be performed in local Intreo offices.
Once a claim is registered, however, it can be processed and decided by an appropriately-trained deciding officer in any one of a number of back office units that can be located anywhere in the country. This enables the efficient utilisation of available staff resources and facilitates greater standardisation and consistency in the decision-making process. It also adds significant flexibility to the Department’s ability to balance workloads across available resources nationwide and to handle unexpected spikes in demand. This has been evidenced by the prompt processing of all claims arising from the recent meat industry dispute.
The new operating model was successfully piloted in late 2017 and early 2018. Following evaluation, the model has now been implemented in 55 of the Department's branch offices and in eight Intreo centres. The roll-out of the new model across the remainder of the Intreo network is being discussed with staff representative organisations and, subject to those discussions, is planned to be completed in 2020. Back offices currently process decisions arising from approximately 35% of the total Intreo claim load.
The introduction of the front office-back office model does have some impacts for staff, as the nature of individual jobs and the organisation and distribution of work may change. Staff representatives have, therefore, been fully involved in the project over the last two years and will continue to be involved as and when the project progresses.
It is concerning that this process is being undertaken so quietly. No information has been given on this subject. The Minister has not ruled out any prospect of job losses in Intreo offices. She needs to put on the record a clarification of whether there will be job losses because of this new model and she needs to state that clearly. I state that because concerns have been expressed about potential reductions in staff numbers. I would like a yes-no answer from the Minister to that question.
There is also concern regarding a reduction in standards for customers. At present, someone can go into an Intreo office, make an application for a payment and, in some cases, get a decision there and then. The application is processed on the day. Under these new proposals, the back office could be anywhere and the processing of applications could take any length of time. That breakdown in communication with the customer is a cause of concern and that matter also requires a response from the Minister.
Just because the Deputy might not know something about an issue does not mean that we have done something quietly. There has been a full and ongoing consultation with staff and unions during the development, piloting and implementation of the new model. The Fórsa trade union supplied detailed feedback to us for consideration of the pilot evaluation. That feedback was included, in its entirety, in an appendix to the pilot evaluation report. There have, however, been some industrial relations difficulties, with Fórsa issuing non-co-operation instructions to their members on two separate occasions, resulting in implementation days. My Department responded by engaging intensively with Fórsa to produce an agreed document covering all of the concerns raised. My Department and Fórsa have also put local operational and national structures in place to deal with any issues that may arise in the future.
Although the front office-back office model will generate efficiencies in claims processing, those efficiencies will be used to help organise and adapt our Department as more staff retire. They will also provide the basis to enable staff take on higher-value work, such as additional employment services and control work.
The Minister will have another opportunity to respond.
The Minister alluded to the concerns of Fórsa, the representative organisation of the staff. Did those concerns emerge on foot of any reviews of the initial roll-out undertaken by the trade union or the Department? That roll-out encompassed some 52 branches across eight different Intreo centres. Will the Minister address some of the concerns identified and outline what plans are in place to address them? She did not answer the fundamental question regarding redundancies. A simple yes-no answer will suffice. It is intended that the entire roll-out will be completed by 2020. The issues identified by Fórsa are genuine and need to be addressed and I hope the Minister will elaborate on those issues now.
I call the Minister for a brief reply.
The simple answer to the Deputy's question is "No". To reiterate, the Fórsa trade union was entirely involved in our pilot project. It supplied detailed feedback for consideration during the assessment of the pilot and all of its suggestions and recommendations were taken on board. There were incidents involving the union on two occasions. We engaged intensively with Fórsa and agreed documents covering each of the concerns to a happy and conclusive resolution.
