Under threat: Fears for future of Citizens Advice Centre and MABS

IT’S a vital public information service that has been on the go in Sligo since 1970 but new merger proposals for the Citizens Information Service ( CIS) are leading to fears it will become a much diluted body.

The planned reforms would see 51 MABS offices and 42 Citizens Information Services ( CIS) offices reduced to just eight regional offices each. Sligo would be lumped in with counties Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim and Monaghan.

The CIS service operates with a staff of four whole time, 3 CE participants and five violunteers. The offices at Rockwood Parade dealt with over 14,000 queries in 2016 and some 8,512 callers. Some 45% of queries related to Social Welfare, 8% to health, 8% to housing and 8% to employment.

The board of Sligo CIS is voluntary and made up of representatives of a range of community and statutory services such as the County Council, Sligo Social Services, north Connaught Youth Services, Legal Panel, Sligo Volunteer Centre and disability services. Orla Barry Development Manager of Sligo CIS said: “There’s a real concern that a merging of the boards will dilute services locally.”

A joint Oireachtas Committee is due to publish a report on the issue soon and pressure is mounting on the Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar to row back on the plans. “The good thing about the service now is that we are an independent board and we respond to local needs as they arise. When the board is replaced there is no certainty and smaller counties like Sligo could be consumed by bigger ones like Donegal,” said Ms Barry.

The county model is the preferred option she stressed and said that the most urgent need was in terms of staffing not governance. The proposed regional structure will lose the local nature of the service she said. The matter was also the subject of a Dáil motion and was discusssed at last week’s Sligo Municipal Council meeting.

See Also Page 22.