Dole delay 'not occurring in Kells"

Delays experienced by newly unemployed people in Kells seeking jobseekers" allowances occur when claims are sent to Dublin for processing, according to Cllr Bryan Reilly. He was referring to recent reports which showed the delays experienced by the newly unemployed in the town were among the worst in the country. He is now calling on the Minister for Social Welfare to ensure that there is sufficient resources put in place in head office in order to avoid such delays and to process all claims as a matter of urgency for all applicants. Cllr Reilly said it was his understanding that there were no delays at the Kells office and that all applications are held at that office for a maximum of two weeks pending further documentation, where required, and were then forwarded to the dept"s head office for authorisation. Cllr Reilly added that this was where the long delays were occurring and he called on the minister to ensure adequate resouerces were made available to speed up the process.