Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Nov 1989

Vol. 393 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Killarney Employment Exchange.

Mr. Moynihan

I wish on this Adjournment debate to draw the Minister's attention to the employment exchange facilities in Killarney. Killarney urban area has approximately 8,000 residents and the catchment area surrounding it from the rural areas which is also accommodated by the local employment exchange has a further 3,000 to 4,000 people. Over a long number of years local bodies, the urban district council, the trade unions and organisations representing community groups have been pressing the Department of Social Welfare for the provision of a proper modern premises in the town. There was a very logical, legitimate reason that the Department could not move and this was frequently expressed by successive Ministers, that because of the legal situation governing the appointment of a contractor for the promotion of services there was not legislation which could remove such a contractor and that any change in the facilities in the premises in Killarney would have to await the retirement of any such appointee. From the end of November this contractor will have retired.

In making this request for the improved facilities I have to compliment the staff who have operated in very limited accommodation and with very limited facilities. They have done their work in a friendly, courteous and efficient way. Killarney, currently with many other areas, has a high level of unemployment, making heavy demands on the staff in the available accommodation. In any case, Killarney because of its pre-eminence in the tourist industry, will have at all times a fairly considerable volume of seasonal employment and seasonal resources to the employment exchange. The absence of adequate accommodation is such that the unemployed have to stand in a long queue in all kinds of weather along the side street footpath. This is demeaning to those signing there. They are the object of viewing by everybody passing and they feel this very much. Furthermore, in the office itself there is little or no provision for privacy in the submission of cases, for discussions with the staff and the taking of confidential details. The general feeling among the unemployed in Killarney is that compared with Tralee, Listowel and Cahirciveen they are being treated as second-class citizens.

I hear from Killarney about giving expression to the general feeling of all bodies there that the Minister and his Department should avail of the current opportunity, once the retirement has taken place, to make the Killarney premises suitable so that for the future both the image of the Department of Social Welfare and the facilities available to the unemployed in Killarney, will be on a par with those provided elsewhere.

In addition to catering for the unemployed, the offices in the other Kerry towns have facilities for taking up medical certificates on behalf of the disability benefit recipients. Currently, in Killarney each one has to address his own medical certificate which causes some annoyance and frequently delays. I appeal to the Minister on behalf of the people of Killarney who have been very patient and disciplined in their demands on his Department and on his predecessors for an upgrading of the employment exchange. The Minister has the power that can reflect this change. Not to do so at this point would possibly commit the unemployed in the Killarney urban and rural areas to a further long period of accepting the very limited accommodation. I trust that he will have regard to the inconvenience that has been borne for so long and which is still being borne by those recipients. In doing that he will acknowledge that the time has come to give to both the Department of Social Welfare, to the Killarney community and to the unemployed the structure, the facilities and the privacy to which they, as citizens, are entitled.

The views expressed by me here tonight could be expressed to the Minister by each and every public body in Killarney and by the overwhelming majority of the people there. What they are seeking is something that has long since been accepted in other Kerry towns and they too feel that Killarney should have an upgraded employment exchange. I trust the Minister will so decide.

Minister for Social Welfare (Dr. Woods)

I appreciate the points made by the Deputy. I would point out that there are approximately 600 signing per week in Killarney. The Deputy tabled a Written Question in relation to the question of the setting up of an employment exchange in Killarney and in my reply on 24 October 1989 I explained that the manager of the employment office in Killarney had notified the Department of her intention to retire from her post with effect from the end of November 1989. I also said that I was at the time reviewing the situation in relation to future services for the area and I indicated that I would notify the Deputy of the outcome of the review.

The position in relation to the current service in Killarney is that it is run by a branch manager who has been employed by my Department on a contract basis since December 1953. There are at present 79 branch offices in the country and 51 employment exchanges. The branch offices tend to be centred in districts of lower population and they perform a very useful function for the Department in the areas concerned. The branch managers carry out their functions under the directions and control of the manager of the relevant parent employment exchange. Deciding officers who make the statutory decisions on claims for unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance are based in the employment exchanges. Each employment exchange which has branch offices has staff designated to deal with the claims from those offices and generally speaking these cases are dealt with every bit as speedily as the claims which are dealt with at the relevant parent employment exchange.

It is the normal practice to review the service in an area when a branch manager notifies the Department that he or she intends to resign. All aspects of the matter including the claim potential in the area are examined. A major consideration is, as always, the quality of service for unemployed persons but the cost involved and the availability of resources for capital expenditure, are important factors which must also be taken into account.

In my review of the situation in Killarney I have had to take a number of factors into account. In the first instance I am conscious that a desire has been expressed that a Civil Service staffed employment exchange be set up in the area and that this aspiration has been a long standing one though, of course, this might not suit the existing staff referred to by the Deputy. It is understood that this desire to have an employment exchange in Killarney arises not from any dissatisfaction with the actual day-to-day service given by the branch manager and her staff but rather with the premises at which unemployed applicants were required to attend. Deputies are no doubt aware that the standard of employment exchange accommodation has greatly improved over recent years and I am determined that the quality of my Department's public offices be improved where necessary and maintained at a high standard. The improvements that have occurred have of course cost a considerable amount of money. Money for the provision of a new employment exchange in Killarney is not available at present and in this context I should tell you that moneys for capital expenditure next year have already been committed to existing projects which are of long standing and of critical importance.

While it is not possible to do so at present it is hoped that it will be possible to set up an employment exchange in Killarney in the future. In fact the Office of Public Works are holding a site near the town for a new exchange. Taking all the factors into account I am seeking to establish an interim solution which would allow for the setting up of an exchange when the situation as regards the availability of the necessary resources is more favourable.

Under an arrangement which has been agreed at Conciliation Council with the association representing branch managers a retiring branch manager can nominate his or her deputy to succeed him or her. The procedure is that the association would make representations on behalf of the person in question and that I would consider the matter. The association did make representations on behalf of the current deputy manager in Killarney. The deputy manager, as the Deputy will be aware, is a former civil servant.

Having fully considered the matter, I have arranged that a proposal in relation to a short-term contract be put to the deputy manager. This would allow for an interim solution. While I must preserve confidentiality in relation to the negotiations about the proposed short-term contract I can say that I am imposing a stipulation that alternative suitable accommodation must be provided within a specified period. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further on this aspect other than to say that a contract has been forwarded to the deputy manager for her acceptance and signature.

I am satisfied that the arrangements which are being worked out at present are the best that can be achieved in the present circumstances and that they will result in an early improvement in the accommodation which, I understand, is the principal concern of the Deputy at present.

The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 22 November 1989.