Vol. 417 No. 5
169 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Justice if his Department have any plans to remove the operation of social welfare arrangements from Garda stations in rural areas, and if so, if he will outline the alternative arrangements he has made or which he will be making with the Department of Social Welfare.
There is a long-standing arrangement whereby unemployment benefit and assistance claims are certified by the Garda Síochána where claimants reside over six miles from their nearest social welfare exchange. The involvement of the gardaí in this certification work has ensured a more convenient service for claimants and proved highly effective in controlling abuse of the unemployment payment schemes.
At the same time, however, discussions have taken place between representatives of the Garda Síochána and officials of my Department and the Department of Social Welfare with a view to making alternative arrangements for the certification of unemployment claims at locations where this work is causing undue disruption to normal Garda duties. Substantial progress has already been made in eliminating disruption at busy Dublin stations and I understand that the Department of Social Welfare are currently considering certain measures which would relieve the burden of certification work at both urban and rural Garda stations. It is not possible to say when these measures might be implemented.
