Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 December 2017
244. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that persons employed by a company (details supplied) are refusing to talk to Deputies on matters concerning persons in cases in which persons have given personal authority to the company to discuss the issues with Deputies; and if she will direct the company to allow this representation in future. [52329/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy department contracts with a range of third parties for the purposes of transacting its business. These include, for example, my department’s branch offices, the Local Employment Service (LES) companies as well as the JobPath service providers such as Seetec.
In the case of enquiries from public representatives, information on an individual client may be disclosed once it is established that the inquirer is a public representative and is acting on behalf of and with the client’s consent. This process includes confirming the identity of the inquirer - this may require, for example, returning the call and/or consulting www.oireachtas.ie to confirm the details of any caller. It should be noted that PPSN details are not disclosed.
If the Deputy has a particular circumstance in mind where he feels that the above was not the case, he should provide the details and my officials will raise the matter with the contractor in question.
