Caller Demand and Profile

The average number of callers a month for 2022 was 32,867 up from the average number for 2021 of 28,181. September had the highest number of callers (40,650) similar to the previous year.


Chart 1: Callers comparison by month from 2021 - 2022

Mode of Contact

In 2022, over half of callers contacted CISs by telephone (215,638 callers). In person contact was four times that of 2021 caller numbers, as face-to-face services resumed. Of the personal callers, 89% were Drop-In and 11% were Appointments.


Chart 2: Modes of Contact

Gender

Where gender was recorded, 61% of callers were female (238,877), 36% were male (140,422) and 3% were couples (12,981). This is similar to the gender breakdown for previous years; females continue to account for nearly two-thirds of callers. Couples increased from 1% of the callers to CISs in 2021 to 3% in 2022

Chart 3: Gender of Callers to CISs in 2022

Age

Age was recorded for 66% of callers in 2022. The 26-45 age category remains the largest proportion of callers. The 66 and over age category rose from 13% of total callers in 2021 to 18% in 2022, reflecting a return in demand from this group post pandemic. The 25 and under category remains the smallest category accounting for 3%.

Chart 4: Number of Callers to CISs by Age Categories in 2022

Specific Needs

13.8% or 54,659 callers to CISs in 2022 had specific needs identified by information providers. Almost half related to language, an increase of over 80% on the 2021 numbers reflecting the increase in demand from Ukrainian service users. There were 7,435 callers with IT Access and Digital Literacy problems in 2022. Of these callers a third were 66 and over.

Chart 5: Top Specific Needs of Callers for 2022

EU and non-EU callers

The number of callers from outside the EU increased to 13.4%, up from 8.8% (17,952) in 2021. The war in Ukraine accounts for the increased number of non-EU callers to CISs in 2022.



Chart 6: EU and non-EU callers

Nationality

Country of Origin was recorded for 63% of callers (247,520) in 2022. 21% of these callers (52,316) countries of origin were outside Ireland. Callers from Ireland accounted for 79% of all callers (195,204). Callers from Ukraine (8,346), and Poland (8,158) were the next highest. In all, callers to CISs came from 189 different countries.

Map 1: Top Countries of Origin for Callers (excluding Ireland)

Query Categories

788,902 queries came from the public in 2022 - an increase of 13.7% in queries compared to 2021. When the public contact CISs they often have more than one query, there was a ratio of 2.00 queries per caller in 2022, which is down from 2.05 in 2021.

Chart 8: Top CIS Query categories for 2022
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Trends

Social Welfare queries rose overall by 23.6% in 2022. Extra Social Welfare Benefits increased by 87% on the query numbers from 2021. Fuel Allowance queries increased by 47% to almost 33,000.

Household Benefits Package (free electricity, gas) queries rose 57% from 12,375 queries in 2021 to 19,444 in 2022.

There was a noticeable increase in the level of queries relating to Supplementary Welfare Schemes, the 'safety net' supports - with a rise of 59.6% in demand for information. Additional needs payments enquiries doubled, reflecting issues with cost-of-living concerns.

Queries relating to Disability and Illness rose 13% on the 2021 numbers. Queries relating to Disability Allowance increased 17% to 24,741 queries, those related to Invalidity Pension rose by 18% to 11,373.

Queries related to Carer's payments increased 18% over the last year. Carer's Allowance rose by 14.7% (25,241), Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) grew by 26.7% (4,166).

Family and Children -Child Benefit queries increased by 37.8% since 2021. Working Family Payment increased by 10%.

Housing queries rose by 22.5% to over 75,000 queries. Queries about Local Authority and Social Housing represented over half of housing queries and grew by 15.5%. Queries relating to Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) remained high at 11,552 queries consistent with 2021 and represent 29.4% of the Local Authority and Housing Queries.

Renting a Home (Private Rental Accommodation) queries rose 16.8% and those about Notice/Eviction/ Disputes increased by 28.6%. The combined query numbers for social and rented housing highlight the ongoing impact of the housing crisis on the public.

Queries related to Housing Grants and Schemes increased by 34.6% from 8,549 queries in 2021 to 11,507 queries in 2022.

Concerns about Homelessness rose from 2,055 queries in 2021 to 3,157.

The number of queries regarding Medical Cards grew 43% from 2021 to 2022 (36,438 queries).

There was a fall of 16.3% in the number of callers with Employment related queries in 2022. Less people looked for information and assistance regarding Leave and holidays, which decreased by 39.1% in 2022 and Contracts of employment which dropped by 21.5%.

Queries relating to Moving Country grew by 73.5%, this was due to the increase in queries from Ukrainian refugees in Ireland. Services assisted over 8,000 Ukrainians in relation to social welfare, healthcare eligibility, and accommodation needs.

Top 10 Entitlements in 2022

28.4% of all queries in 2023 were related to the Top 10 entitlements.

Chart 9: Top 10 Entitlements in 2022



29% of all queries in 2022 were related to the Top 10 entitlements.