Access Officers under the Disability Act 2005

The Department of Social Protection has appointed Access Officers in accordance with section 26(2) of the Disability Act 2005. Access Officers are responsible for providing or arranging for, and co-ordinating assistance and guidance, to persons with disabilities accessing services provided by the offices and generally to act as a point of contact for people with disabilities wishing to access such services.

The contact details are as follows:

• Social Welfare Services, Áras Mhic Dhiarmada
• Social Welfare Services, Oisin House
• Social Welfare Services, Goldsmith House
• Social Welfare Appeals Office
• Social Welfare Services, Gandon House
• Information Systems
• General Register Office (Research Office)
• Genral Register Office
• Social Welfare Services, Sligo
• Information Services, Sligo
• Social Welfare Services, Letterkenny
• Social Welfare Services, Buncrana
• Social Welfare Services, Carrick-on-Shannon
• Social Welfare Services, Longford
• List of Officers in Regional Offices

Inquiry Officers

Procedures for dealing with Complaints under Section 38 of the Disability Act, 2005

 

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Áras Mhic Dhiarmada

Address	Area Included	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services Áras Mhic Dhiarmada Store Street Dublin 1.	Office of the Minister Office of the Secretary General Budget and Finance Occupational Injuries Benefit Medical Care Illness Benefit Press Office EU/International Policy Policy and Planning Unit Facilities Management Unit Family Affairs Unit Personnel	Brian Duff Email: brian.duff@welfare.ie Telephone: (01) 7043190 Fax: (01) 7043070
		Liam Walsh Email: liamo.walsh@welfare.ie Telephone: (01) 7043840
		Christopher Mc Camley Email: christopher.mccamley@welfare.ie Telephone: (01) 7043828 Fax: (01) 7043457
		Muriel Cleary Email: muriel.cleary@welfare.ie Telephone: (01) 7043628 Fax: (01) 7043918 Does not have responsibility for a particular building but does have a role in ensuring that the programme of making all offices physically accessible to all customers and staff is progressed in line with the Disability Sectoral Plan.

 

 

Oisin House

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services Oisin House Pearse Street, Dublin 2.	Scope (Insurability of Employment) PRSI Refunds Staff Development Unit Service Modernisation Central Services Corporate Management Services Central Support Unit (Dublin South) Medical Review and Assessment Section	Michael Murphy Email: michael.murphy@welfare.ie Telephone: (01) 6732494 Fax: (01) 6732018

 

 

Goldsmith House

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services Goldsmith House Pearse Street Dublin 2	Office of the Director-General Business Information Security Unit Risk Management Support Unit Business Process Improvement Unit Business Intelligence Unit IS Division (Pensions Development)	Pat McDermott Email: pat.mcdermott@welfare.ie Telephone: (01) 6732774 Fax: (01) 6732777

 

 

Social Welfare Appeals Office

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Appeals Office D'Olier House Dublin 2	Appeals	New appointment to be confirmed

 

 

Gandon House

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services Gandon House Amiens Street Dublin 1	Regional Director's Office Respite Care Grant Information Systems	John Mangan Email: john.mangan@welfare.ie Telephone: (01) 7043369 Fax: (01) 7043217

 

 

Information Systems

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Information Systems Colbert House Kilmainham Dublin 8	Colbert House, East & West Blocks ISDDU, 16 Parnell Square East	Declan D'Arcy Email: declan.darcy@welfare.ie Telephone: (01) 4164015 Fax: (01) 4164198

 

 

General Register Office (Research Office)

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
General Register Office (Research Office) 3rd Floor, Block 7 Irish Life Centre Lower Abbey Street Dublin 1		Declan Roche Email: declan_roche@groireland.ie Telephone: (01) 8718018

 

 

General Register Office

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
General Register Office Government Offices Convent Road Roscommon		Joe Quinn, HEO CRCS Development & Support Section, General Register Office, Government Buildings, Convent Road, Roscommon. Telephone: (0906) 632918/087 0655364 Fax: (0906)632999

 

 

Sligo

Address	Area Included	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services, College Road, Sligo	State Pensions Blind Pension One-Parent Family Payment Widow's or Widower's Pensions Widowed Parent Grant Guardian's Payments Supplementary Welfare Allowance Free Travel Household Benefits Project Office Internal Audit Bereavement Grant	John Muldowney Email: john.muldowney@welfare.ie Telephone: (071) 9148335 Fax: (071) 9148314
		Patricia Conlon Email: patricia.conlon@welfare.ie Telephone: (071) 9148490 Fax: (071) 9148314

 

Information Services

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Information Services Social Welfare Services College Road Sligo	Information Services with responsibility for access to the provision of information throughout the Department including: Alternative formats Braille, Audio, etc Sign Language Printed & Electronic material Advertising	Aidan O'Reilly Email: aidan.oreilly@welfare.ie Telephone: (071) 9193221

Letterkenny

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services St Oliver Plunkett Rd Letterkenny Co Donegal	Child Benefit Treatment Benefit: Dental/Optical/Hearing Aids Adoptive Benefit	Roy Baldrick Email: roy.baldrick@welfare.ie Telephone: (074) 9164512 Fax: (074) 9125614

 

 

Buncrana

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services Inner Relief Road Ardarvan Buncrana	Client Eligibility Services Maternity Benefit Health and Safety Benefit	New appointment to be confirmed

 

 

Carrick-on-Shannon

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services Shannon Lodge Carrick-on-Shannon	Client Identity Services Decisions Advisory Office/Freedom of Information Employment Support Services Maintenance Recovery Unit Back to Work Allowance Back to Education Allowance	Mairin Haran Email: mairin.haran@welfare.ie Telephone: (071) 9672684 Fax: (071) 9672555

 

 

Longford

Address:	Area Included:	Contact Information:
Social Welfare Services, Ballinalee Road, Longford	Invalidity Pension Disablement Benefit Carer's Allowance Carer's Benefit Bereavement Grant Family Income Supplement Rent Allowance De-Control Disability Allowance	Fergus Darcy Email: fergus.darcy@welfare.ie Telephone: (043) 3340041 Fax: (043) 3340022

 

Inquiry Officers under the Disability Act 2005

The Department of Social Protection has appointed Inquiry Officers to investigate complaints made under section 38 of the Disability Act.

The Inquiry Officers will carry out investigations in private and will produce a report which will say

• if your complaint is valid
• whether there has been a failure by the Department of Social Protection concerning your complaint

Where a failure has happened, it will outline the steps to be taken to ensure future compliance. This report will be made available to the Secretary General of the Department and to the person who makes the complaint.

Procedures for dealing with Complaints under Section 38 of the Disability Act, 2005

A complaint may be made against the Department if it does not comply with the provisions of Sections 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Disability Act, 2005. These Sections of the Act relate to access by persons with disabilities to:

• the Department's public buildings;
• the Department's schemes and services;
• services supplied to the Department; or
• information.

In accordance with Section 39 (2) of the Disability Act, 2005 (see Note 1 below) the following are the procedures for making and investigating such complaints.

Making a complaint

1. A complaint may be made by a person, or through his or her:

• spouse/partner, parent or relative;
• guardian or a person acting in loco parentis to that person;
• legal representative;
• personal advocate, assigned by the Citizens Information Board to represent that person;

or by another person advocating on behalf of that person with his or her consent.

2. A complaint must be made in writing, which can include fax or e-mail, and should provide all contact details, including the Personal Public Service Number if available, for the person making the complaint.

3. The complaint should state that it is a complaint under Section 38 of the Disability Act 2005 and should, in so far as is possible, set out as clearly as possible the grounds for the complaint regarding the failure of the Department to provide access to its schemes and services.

4. The complaint must be made to:

The Secretary General,
Department of Social Protection,
Áras Mhic Dhiarmada,
Store Street,
Dublin 1.

The relevant fax and e-mail details are as follows:
Fax: (01) 7043721
E-Mail: secretary.general@welfare.ie

5. Following the receipt of a complaint, the Secretary General will refer the matter to an Inquiry Officer (see Note 2 below) and will advise the person making the complaint accordingly.

Investigating a complaint

6. On receipt of the complaint, referred by the Secretary General, the Inquiry Officer will acknowledge receipt to the person who made the complaint.

7. The Inquiry Officer will examine the complaint to establish if it relates to an alleged failure by the Department to comply with Sections 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Disability Act, 2005.

8. Where the Inquiry Officer considers that the complaint is frivolous or vexatious, he or she will notify the Secretary General and the person who made the complaint to that effect. Otherwise he or she will investigate the complaint.

9. The Inquiry Officer may request further information/details from the person who made the complaint and may require that such information/details be furnished within a specified time.

10. The Inquiry Officer may consult with all parties that he or she considers appropriate regarding the matter.

11. In the course of the investigation the Inquiry Officer may undertake interviews with such persons which he or she considers appropriate, including the person who made the complaint, to elicit information.

12. The Inquiry Officer will maintain a written record of his or her investigation.

13. The Inquiry Officer will prepare a written report of the results of the investigation setting out his or her findings together with a determination in relation to:

• whether there has been a failure by the Department to comply with the relevant provision of the Disability Act; and
• if such a determination indicates that there has been such a failure, the steps required to be taken by the Department to comply with the relevant provision(s) of the Act.

14. The Inquiry Officer will furnish a copy of his or her report to the person who made the complaint and to the Secretary General.

15. The furnishing of the report to the person who made the complaint and to the Secretary General concludes the investigation of the complaint.

Note 1:
Section 39 (2) provides that the head of a public body shall draw up procedures in relation to the making and investigation of complaints and such other matters relating to complaints as he or she considers appropriate and shall cause the procedures to be published.

Note 2:
The Secretary General, as head of the Department, has, in accordance with the provisions of Section 39 (1) of the Disability Act, 2005, appointed Inquiry Officers to investigate complaints made under Section 38 of the Disability Act. An Inquiry Officer shall be independent in the performance of his or her functions. An investigation by an Inquiry Officer shall be conducted in private.