Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 March 2014
231. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans for the roll-out of Intreo offices in County Mayo; the services that will be available at each Intreo location in the county; the roll-out schedule for the remaining offices; the proposed opening hours of each office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11576/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently four Intreo centres in operation in County Mayo – Achill, Belmullet, Castlebar and Ballina. The standard opening hours in an Intreo centre are 9.15 to 17.00 Monday to Thursday and 9.15 to 16.30 on Fridays. These opening hours are in operation in Castlebar and Ballina Intreo centres. The opening hours in the smaller centres in Achill and Belmullet are 9.30 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 16.30 Monday to Wednesday and Fridays and 10.30 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 16.30 on Thursdays.
It is expected that a fifth Intreo centre will open in Westport before the end of this year, once accommodation issues there are resolved. Opening hours in this centre will be decided closer to the launch date. In the meanwhile, income support services to unemployed customers will continue to be provided through the Social Welfare local office in Prospect Avenue and the Community Welfare Service clinic will remain in James’ Street. In addition the Social Welfare branch offices in Ballinrobe, Claremorris and Swinford continue to provide the same service as heretofore.
The delivery of the Intreo services comprises of a number of elements, the main elements being:
i. The integration of the various welfare decisions making processes to speed up the decision making and minimise recourse to supplementary welfare payments.
ii. The introduction of a profiling process to capture the unique characteristics and service requirements of each jobseeker. Profiling enables the Department to target resources effectively to an individual’s needs.
iii. The implementation of a systematic group activation engagement and one to one process based on client’s profiles.
iv. The delivery of integrated services from a ‘one-stop-shop’ office location rather than multiple locations serving the same community.
