asked the Minister for Social Welfare the approximate additional cost that would be involved in requiring those who are unemployed to sign at employment exchanges every day rather than every week.
Written Answers. - Signing at Employment Exchanges.
735.
About two-thirds of all unemployed sign at local offices of the Department. Depending on circumstances they sign daily, twice weekly or once weekly. The remaining one-third sign once weekly at signing centres, mainly Garda stations, throughout the country. If all those attending local offices were required to sign daily additional staffing and ancillary costs estimated at about £3,000,000 per annum would be involved. It would not be possible to accommodate the additional staff and those attending for daily signature in many of the existing local offices and additional accommodation would also be required, the cost of which is not included in the estimate.
Daily signature at signing centres would not be possible without putting burdens on gardaí, who supervise the signing arrangements, which it would not be possible to meet.