Varadkar visits Maternity Benefit section of Social Protection in Buncrana

 

Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar visited the Department’s Maternity Benefit processing section in Buncrana during a scheduled constituency visit to Donegal today.
The Minister paid tribute to staff who are working hard to tackle the current temporary backlog in applications for Maternity Benefit payments.
“It was a pleasure to meet the staff and managers in Buncrana today and see for myself some of the Maternity Benefit claims being processed. I know they are doing all they can to tackle the current delays in payments, including overtime and weekend work. I want to thank the staff and managers for working so diligently to deal with the backlog.
“The Department also wants to emphasise that online applications are being processed much more swiftly than paper applications, with 60pc of them approved immediately. These require a Public Services Card of which more than 2 million have already been issued, and which can be easily obtained from your local Intreo Centre. Anyone who has already made a paper application can still make an online application.”