Cllr Barry Nevin

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TIME TO PUT AN END TO QUEUING FOR A LIVING.

Issued : Tuesday 19 May, 2009

Labour Candidate, Barry Nevin, speaking at the launch of Labour’s Policy on “Planning the Future of Bray” said it was time to put an end to the antiquated and dehumanising practice of forcing the unemployed to queue in the street outside Social Welfare offices, calling it “an indignity that nobody should be subjected to”.

 I have been told by many people during my canvass over the last few months about the long queues outside the Unemployment Exchange in Bray.  These queues in the Civic Centre on the Main Street often stretch right from the Social Welfare Office to the front gates of the Civic Plaza. 

 It is totally wrong to expect people to queue for hours on end, particularly in bad weather.  Signing-on arrangements should be introduced which would give claimants fixed appointments, eliminating the overflow of queues onto the street. There is a clear need for additional staff at the department to ensure that people are treated with respect and dignity.

 I fully understand that the staff of the Unemployment Exchange are working flat out to deal with the thousands of people who have lost their jobs over the last months and who are now applying for social welfare.  The Labour Party is calling on the Minister for Social & Family Affairs to keep her promise and to provide additional staff in the Social Welfare offices to combat the long queues and to give extra supports to the staff that they so badly need.