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Long queues for welfare in
Inishowen
20.06.08
A BUNCRANA councillor
has hit out at the long queues for Community Welfare
services in Inishowen saying they're caused by an
unnecessary bureaucratic stumbling block.
Sinn Féin Cllr Daren Lalor said people currently
have to wait in line simply to pick up application
forms for medical cards, rent allowance, mobility
allowance and nursing home subvention. |
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He called on the
Community Welfare Service to make all their forms
readily available to the public.
"I have written to Liam Breen, the superintendent of
the Community Welfare Service, asking him to address
the unnecessary long queues at their health centres
across Inishowen and why all forms relating to the
local Community Welfare office are not made readily
available to the public in either their own offices,
Citizen's Information Centres, libraries or post
offices," said Cllr. Lalor. |
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"Currently, all but the Back-to-School Clothing Allowance forms can
only be obtained personally from a Community Welfare
officer in one of their health centres. This policy
is creating unnecessary queues at their centres
throughout Inishowen."
He acknowledged the need for a Community Welfare
officer to sit down with members of the public to
assess their needs on any of the given schemes, but
said it "doesn't make any sense" to withhold the
distribution of various forms to other outlets.
"By distributing the forms on medical cards, rent
allowance, back to school clothing etc, to the likes
of Citizen Information centres, libraries and post
offices, the public can then prefill the forms
before they visit their local welfare officer. This
surely would then help eliminate the unnecessary
queues at these centres?" added Cllr Lalor. |
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