Citizen information offices should be reopened

'There is no substitute for face-to-face communication'

The closure of the West Wicklow Citizens Information Centre (CIC) popular service has had a negative impact on the public and should be reopened.

Fine Gael councillor Edward Timmins has called for the centres at Blessington and Baltinglass to be restored.

The offices have been closed since September 2020 and were also out of action for a long period during the Covid-19 pandemic and this has had a negative impact on public information provision in West Wicklow.

“There is need to provide people with a confidential in-person advice service again (and funding for a dedicated information officer must now be considered,” said the councillor

The history of the service dates to the 1960s when people came together to share factual information. Many CICs closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said a phone and online service alone is not meeting the needs of the community who require independent advice on complex issues.

“Access to accurate information on areas like housing, employment, educational grants, pensions, disabilities and other issues is needed through an independent service. Blessington and Baltinglass CICs played an integral part in community information provision,” he added, commending the dedicated volunteers who “made the West Wicklow services a success for a long number of years.”

He criticised a recommendation that the provision of face to face information would be reviewed. This emerged from a review of the service carried out in May 2022 by the Department of Social Protection.

“Sometimes there is just no substitute for face-to-face communication when it comes to complex issues.”

He said despite the existence of a website and phone service several residents, including older people, preferred to visit a service in-person while dealing with often sensitive issues and form filling - while others relied on the important advocacy aspect of the service and specialist clinics such as free legal advice.

He added research by Dr Nat O’Connor of Ulster University noted how many clients require more in-depth assistance including people with disabilities and in-person services remain important in combating rural isolation.

He said the Blessington CIC located in the library, and Baltinglass outreach centre based in the Credit Union, were a ‘force for good’ in the locality.

“We need this service reinstated and we should be ambitious in how any new service could work including a satellite service to other more rural villages across west Wicklow to meet the needs of our ageing population. At a time of so much misinformation, proper information services have never been more important.”