asked the Minister for Social Welfare if a local office of his Department will be established in Tallaght, County Dublin in view of the difficulty that large numbers of local people encounter in getting disability and unemployment payments.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tallaght (Dublin) New Local Office.
16.
Mayo West): My Department have plans to provide a full local office service for the Tallaght area in the proposed new Tallaght town centre. However, as it will be some time yet before the new town centre is ready and such a service could be provided there, the question of securing temporary premises in Tallaght is being urgently pursued by my Department.
Would the Minister of State agree that the position regarding payment of social welfare payments at Tallaght over the last decade has been nothing short of a scandal, that the payments are made from the Garda station and that the spectacle may be seen constantly of large numbers of people having to queue up outside in full public view, very often in inclement weather getting drenched in the rain, and that this situation has continued for years in a town with a population of 70,000 people?
(Mayo West): The Department are aware of the problem in relation to the services they provide at the moment in Tallaght and we are making every effort to ensure that suitable premises will be sought as quickly as possible in order to have the present situation corrected.
Have the Department any premises in view that the Minister of State has under consideration having regard to the fact that this situation has pertained for the last ten years? Can he name one or two specific premises that the Department are considering?
(Mayo West): A number of premises are being examined on behalf of the Department by the OPW and it is hoped that some progress will be made on that in the near future.
When the Minister of State says "the near future" could he be more specific?
(Mayo West): It is hoped in the next few months.