South Connacht Citizens Information Service (SCCIS ), which recently published its annual report for 2025, has reported continued high levels of demand for its services. The rising cost of living and the increased move of public services online were two of the main reasons people contacted the service.
Citizens Information is a trusted provider of free, impartial, confidential information, advice and advocacy on a wide range of public services in Ireland. It helps individuals understand and access their rights and entitlements in areas such as social welfare, employment rights, housing, health, immigration, money and tax across Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.
Commenting on the publication of the report, Zach Worrall, development manager, Galway, said: "In 2025, we continued to see strong demand for our services. People really value the independent and confidential information, advice and support they receive from our trained Information Officers. It can make a big difference to their lives."
Annual report 2025
During 2025, SCCIS provided a service to 29,648 clients and answered a total of 56,756 queries. The single largest category of query dealt with by SCCIS in 2025 was social welfare, which accounted for 48 per cent of all queries. The other largest query types were housing (12 per cent ), employment (seven per cent ), health (seven per cent ) and money and tax (seven per cent ).
As well as providing information and advice to people on their rights and entitlements, SCCIS also provides an advocacy service, empowering people to assert their rights and claim their entitlements. Where necessary, the service represents clients and negotiates on their behalf. The advocacy work undertaken by SCCIS makes a real impact on the lives of clients it works with, whether it is helping them get a social welfare payment, get on the housing waiting list or get a redundancy payment when they lose their job.
High levels of client satisfaction
SCCIS works hard to ensure it delivers a high quality, responsive service to the public and seeks ongoing feedback on levels of client satisfaction. During 2025, there were very high levels of satisfaction amongst users of the service.
Some 99 per cent of clients survey were either very satisfied or satisfied with the service they received, and 96.5 per cent of clients surveyed found staff friendly and welcoming. Meanwhile 98.5 per cent of clients surveyed said they would recommend the service to other.
People can find information on their rights and entitlements, as well as centre opening hours, at www.citizensinformation.ie
