Minister officially opens local Intreo centres

TÁNAISTE and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, visited north county Dublin last week to officially open two new Intreo Centres in Balbriggan and Swords.  

The Intreo Centre in Swords will offer a ‘One-Stop-Shop’ service to Department of Social Protection customers living in Swords, Donabate, Portrane, Oldtown, Rolestown, Ballyboughal and parts of Kinsealy and Waterside.  

Residents living in Balbriggan, Rush, Lusk, Skerries in north county Dublin and Gormanston and Stamullen in County Meath will be serviced from the Intreo Centre located at Gallen’s Mill in Balbriggan.  

The Live Register for these two offices stands at just over 6,600, with a claim load in excess of 10,000.

Speaking at the opening of the latest Intreo Centres, the Tánaiste said her focus was on transforming the local offices of the Department of Social Protection into Intreo Centres or dedicated public employment services.

“The Department of Social Protection was traditionally seen as the place where a person got their unemployment or dole if they were out of work, and nothing more,” she said.  

“I was determined to change that.  Through the Pathways to Work strategy, my focus has been on transforming the local offices of the Department into centres which offer dedicated employment services and concentrate on helping jobseekers to upskill and gain training and ultimately a job.”