Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It comes in arrears - I think that is the way it is.

In respect of the community welfare officer service, it seems to me that it is getting more difficult by the day. There seems to be less and less discretion exercised by the community welfare officers. There seems to be very little in clothing, back to school allowances or any of the services that might be useful for people. Certainly, in a lot of areas in the inner city, I am hearing all the time that the community welfare officer has just one word, "No," to virtually everything.