Wicklow TD John Brady has called for a ‘thorough investigation’ into the recent delay in social welfare payments.
He has asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, to have her department carry out an investigation into the delays that left certain bank customers unable to access payments – including child welfare payments.
Customers of AIB, An Post, Ulster Bank, and Permanent TSB were some of those affected by the delay.
John Brady said “I understand that Jobseekers payments, Disability Allowance, Illness Benefit, Working Family Payment, and Child Benefit are among the payments which did not appear in certain bank accounts this morning. This caused great distress to people and families right across the State.
“While the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection in their online update to customers have stated that they ‘will monitor the issue’, this falls far short of what is needed to ensure that this does not happen again.
“I am calling on Minister Doherty to instruct her Department to go beyond monitoring and instead, carry out a thorough investigation of this morning’s incident.
“We cannot allow this issue to reoccur, putting some of our most vulnerable citizens in desperate situations not knowing when they will receive their respective payments.”
