Vol. 334 No. 6
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if, in view of the very high volume of social welfare problems handled by the Tallaght Welfare Society at their offices in Tallaght, County Dublin, and of the very high expense involved in so doing, he will make a substantial grant to the society to enable them to continue with this essential social work involving his Department at their premises there.
14.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if, in view of the very high volume of social welfare problems processed by the Tallaght Welfare Society at their premises at Tallaght, County Dublin, he will second an official of his Department to attend the society's office there to assist in the processing of the social welfare problems which average some hundreds per week.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 14 together.
I appreciate the work done by the Tallaght Welfare Society but I regret that there are no funds at my disposal from which I could make a grant as suggested by the Deputy.
As regards the second question asked by the Deputy, I also regret that it is not possible to make arrangements on the lines suggested by him. It is however the intention of my Department to provide a new employment exchange in the proposed new Tallaght Town Centre. As this may take some time, arrangements are being made as a matter of urgency to secure premises on a temporary basis in Tallaght for use as an employment exchange until long-term arrangements are completed. The services in the employment exchange will include an information centre to advise and help people with all aspects of the services administered by the Department of Social Welfare.
Would the Minister not agree that what is involved is not a matter of an employment exchange but is a case where the Tallaght Welfare Society are assisting thousands of people who are involved in complex dealings with his Department? Would the Minister agree that the present social welfare system is extremely complex and that the Tallaght Welfare Society are a voluntary organisation doing this work and need help? Help of this nature is accorded in other countries.
I agree, but the Deputy seems to have misheard my reply. There are no funds in my Department for such allocations. The Department of Social Welfare do not deal with that matter. It comes under the Department of Health. I agree that the Tallaght Welfare Society are doing excellent work and that this should be encouraged within the community. The National Social Services Board, I understand, have given a grant of £1,600 to the welfare society towards their annual operating costs, which, I appreciate, are substantially greater. There are many community organisations and if money was given through the Department of Social Welfare there would be a situation where the Department of Health would deal with it on one hand and the Department of Social Welfare would deal with it on the other. I hope to bring a Bill for a National Community Development Agency before the House shortly. It is from this source I envisage more money being made available for groups such as the Tallaght Welfare Society. They should not have any great difficulty in that respect since they are already funded under the National Social Services Board.
The society are in grave financial difficulty by reason of the extent of the services they give. I am pleased to hear the Minister say that they are worthy of every possible encouragement. What steps is he taking to make representations to whatever other Department may be appropriate to ensure that the Tallaght Welfare Society, which is the premier organ of its category in the country, will secure assistance to enable them to continue their work?
I appreciate the Deputy's support for his own local welfare society but other Deputies would reckon that their welfare societies are also supreme organisations. Efforts to fund them in a more substantial way are being made through the National Community Development Agency. I suggest that the society put their case together and if they bring it to me I will ensure that it is with the National Community Development Agency at the earliest opportunity.
Is the Minister aware that the society, with the understanding and agreement, tacit or otherwise, of the Department, is operating as a depot of the Department in that virtually all social welfare certificates and so on submitted from Tallaght are lodged and transmitted through the society and staff are taken up there on a full-time basis dealing with social welfare matters? Would the Minister consider having a person from his Department seconded to the society who would be more appropriate to deal with social welfare matters than workers employed by a society?
There are other organisations doing this work and the mechanism for dealing with it is to provide funds and leave the control locally. When the exchange is established in the area some of that workload will be taken from the society.
That is in the future.
There is also a short term arrangement. There will be a major exchange.
When will that be?
Shortly. There are reasonable prospects that an office will be made available.
When?
I do not have a date but I regard it as a matter of priority.
Question No. 15 is for written reply.
16.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason a person (details supplied) in Cork has not received payment in respect of a payment slip dated 12 February 1982 that was missing from her pension book.
Payment has now been made to the person concerned in respect of the missing pay order. The delay in payment arose because inquiries were being made from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs with a view to establishing whether or not the missing order had been cashed.
I did not put down this question to get information about one person only. Is the Minister aware that there is a major problem in the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in the processing of these types of complaints? I have been told that there are delays of between five and six months. Will the Minister have discussions with the Department of Posts and Telegraphs with a view to eliminating this unnecessary stress which is caused to people such as old age pensioners in particular?
We do that normally. We have done in this case. We have stressed the general problem which arises. Previously I did something about delays in the delivery of non-contributory old age pensions to farmers whose land had been transferred. All the practical details had been gone through, but the legal stamping did not come through for 18 months or two years and there were long delays. I recognised that, if there was agreement, in 99.9 per cent of the cases nothing would be lost to the State by changing the procedure, which we did at the time.
If a disability benefit cheque was lost or stolen, the person had to wait until the Fraud Squad investigated it. I introduced a scheme whereby the person could sign a document saying he had not received it and that to his knowledge no one in his house had received it, and on that basis the person could be paid after a week. That has worked satisfactorily. That is the way I intend to approach this matter — to arrange that the same kind of procedure would apply where there was a loss in the Department of Posts and Telegraphs or the Department of Social Welfare. I think that would meet the Deputy's requirements.
