Swords Signing On Must Be Reversed
Monday, 25 January 2010 13:04 Local Senator, Brendan Ryan (Lab), has said that the fact that people from Swords and Donabate must sign on in the city centre is an absolute disgrace. He is calling on the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to reverse this outrageous decision. The Swords Local office is now spread out between the new office in the Credit Union on North Street, the portacabins on the Malahide Road and now the old North Cumberland St. Social Welfare office as well. Ryan said, “Up until now, signing on for Swords Jobseekers had been suspended - a common sense approach to the problem. However, I am now informed that the suspension has been lifted as of this month, and people who are signing on have been told that they must now do so in the city centre. This is a totally unacceptable solution and will cause great difficulty, especially for those recently made unemployed, who have perhaps suspended previous childcare arrangements to allow for the unemployed party to mind the kids. They may now have to drag the kids into the city centre with them when signing on. The new permanent Local Office on Forster Way is in the pipeline, but will take two to three years at a minimum before it is completed”. “I am calling on the Department to rearrange the service in some way to ensure that the signing on process is carried out in Swords”, he concluded. |
