Vol. 379 No. 4
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will introduce regulations within his Department providing that officials give a full explantion as to decisions taken in each individual case; and if he will explore the possibilities offered by modern information technology in this regard.
56.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will take steps to improve communications between his Department and members of the public; and in particular, if he will issue instructions to his officials to desist from the practice of explaining decisions taken in individual cases by making reference to various sections of social welfare legislation without giving a clear indication as to the matters covered in the relevant section of the legislation, and its particular relevance to each individual case.
57.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will replace the current unemployment benefit 29D form used by his Department in unemployment benefit-unemployment assistance cases introducing in its place a more intelligible form of communication.
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 55, 56 and 57 together. My Department are conscious of the need to provide information to clients in a clear, well presented and easily understandable manner and the staff have been instructed accordingly.
Decisions to entitlement to benefit are given by statutorily appointed deciding officers and are made under specific provisions of Social Welfare Acts or regulations. Every effort is made to explain clearly why a particular decision has been made. Very often this explanation will include a reference to the legislation governing the particular claim in question. This is primarily done to assure the cliamant that the decision is not a purely discretionary one but has a proper legal basis and to enable the claimant to formulate a proper appeal should she or he wish to do so. It is acknowledged that references to legislation in this context should be as helpful as possible to the individual applicant. The social welfare legislation was consolidated in 1981 and it is intended to carry out a further consolidation exercise which will enable the general public to have a clearer understanding of the law relating to social security entitlements.
My Department have a special forms design unit. This unit operate an ongoing programme of forms redesign and simplification which has resulted in a much improved standard of presentation in most areas of the Department. A new series of forms will be put into circulation in the unemployment payments area shortly. These new forms will explain more clearly how decisions have been arrived at and take into account the points raised by the Deputy. With the exception of unemployment payments all the main payment schemes are now computerised. The computerisation of unemployment payments is being developed as rapidly as resources allow. All Dublin employment exchanges now have computerised payments and this is being extended to exchanges outside Dublin on a phased basis. As part of this project and to provide a sound basis for one-stop-shop arrangements, a nationwide network connecting local offices to the central computers in Dublin is being developed. This network will enable members of the public to obtain detailed information on any type of claim locally and will reduce the need to communicate with headquarters sections in Dublin. These developments will improve in a major way the quality of communications between my Department and the public.
From the information furnished it has not been possible to identify the particular form referred to in Question No. 57. If the Deputy furnishes me with a copy of the form which has given rise to his question I will have the matter examined further.
