Fórsa has told the Department of Social Protection that all Intreo services should be delivered on an online basis, with an appointment system for essential and emergency appointments.

The union says this is necessary for the safety of customers and staff, and to underpin the national effort to control the spread of the Cornonavirus by reducing the number of potentially virus-spreading interactions in Intreo offices and on public transport.

The call came as staff in a number of large Intreo offices reported large queues, which made it impossible to enforce social distancing, face covering, and other public health measures.

The union, which says the current level of face-to-face encounters is facilitating breaches of the State-led Level Five Covid restrictions, has written to the departmental secretary general on the matter following repeated engagements with management.

Fórsa says public health requirements mean appointments should be limited to emergencies that can’t be handled by phone or email. The union also wants mask wearing to be mandatory for any customers that have to attend offices.

Union official Paul MacSweeney said more than half the customers currently attending Intreo centres were seeking forms that could be posted out to them.

“There is a lot of fear and anger among our members because the department insists on maintaining walk-in arrangements when virtually all the services can be delivered online or by phone. This clearly breaches national Level Five guidelines, which say staff should not be in workplaces if their work can be done remotely,” he said.

Paul said most other civil service departments and State agencies had suspended walk-in services. Meanwhile, over half of social protection staff continue to work in offices where risk assessments have not been updated to reflect current and recent Covid transmission rates.

“More needs to be done to increase home working, including the provision of equipment to allow more staff to work from home,” he said.

In the meantime, the union has advised members to alert their local Fórsa rep and Covid ‘lead worker safety representative’ to any specific problems. Fórsa will also be carrying out a members’ survey on health and safety in local offices.

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