The Department of Social Protection is investigating why its website has been out of service for three days.
The department, which pays out about €19 billion in benefits every year, confirmed its site at welfare.ie had been "out of service" since Sunday evening.
It said the cause was being investigated.
“The department apologises for the inconvenience to our customers and website users and will continue to provide updates via social media throughout the day,” it said in a statement.
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It said customers could access social welfare information on the Citizens' Information Board website at citizensinformation.ie