DONEGAL TD., Thomas
Pringle has raised the closure of 12 Donegal
Community Welfare clinics with Social Protection
Minister Joan Burton who has pledged to keep the
matter under review.
“I will be holding the Minister to her word on that
with a view to getting the clinics reopened if
necessary if the service fails the people who need
it," said Deputy Pringle. "As of this week people
are being asked to make their way to larger towns to
avail of Community Welfare services. This does not
recognise the geography of rural Ireland and the
difficulties many of the clients of the Department
of Social Protection face in accessing services."
He said the 12 clinics are in outlying areas with no
transport links to get people to larger towns to
access them.
"These are some of the most vulnerable people in
society and through their need to access services
they must have a lot of contact with Community
Welfare Officers for vital services such as
theExceptional Needs Payment or Supplementary
Welfare Allowance.
“The letter issued in Donegal states that these
closures are due to the roll-out of the Intreo
programme, a one-stop shop for employment services.
However, I fail to see what the Community Welfare
offices will bring to the roll-out of the Intreo
service when they need to be kept in place to
provide the services which are vital to those using
them."
The deputy added: “One of the clinics closing is in
Pettigo and an offer has been made to clients to use
the clinic either in Ballyshannon or in Donegal
Town.
"There is one bus service a week to Donegal Town
from Pettigo and there is none to Ballyshannon.
“While there may be a telephone service available,
it will be interesting to see how that will work
where there are application forms to be filled out
or paperwork to be sent in to the Community Welfare
Officer for a decision. So I’ll be keeping a close
eye on how the situation progresses." |
