asked the Minister for Education if the writers of all letters to his Department are sent an acknowledgment, within a reasonable time, that their letters have been received; how soon letters are acknowledged; and if he will issue an instruction that the identity and rank of public servants issuing letters from his Department are clearly stated in a typewritten form in addition to the signature of the official concerned.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - Correspondence with Department .
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: A very large volume of mail arrives in the Department daily. Instuctions have been issued to all sections of my Department to ensure that delay in replying to letters is reduced to the minimum and that, where it is apparent that a full reply is not possible within two weeks of receipt, an acknowledgment or interim reply should be issued. It would not be practicable to acknowledge each individual letter immediately on its receipt.
It would not be feasible to have the name of the official signing a letter typed under the signature in all cases but this practice will be adopted for the purpose of convenience of the addressee to the extent that such can be achieved. I do not consider that an indication of the rank of the official should be regarded as a relevant requirement.
: Am I right in assuming that the latest instruction the Minister has issued, which we are glad to hear of, effectively states that anyone who writes to the Department will receive an acknowledgement within a fortnight?
: In general that is the meaning of what I have said.
: As regards the second part of the question why should it present a problem for missives from the Department to have an identifiable name appended to them in all cases?
: As I have said the practice will be adopted for the purpose of convenience to the extent that it can be achieved.
: There is no guarantee that a taxpayer who writes to the Minister, as I imagine many do, and gets a letter back from the Department on behalf of the Minister will be able to know to what person he can address himself in the event of finding the replies unsatisfactory?
: I try to reply to any taxpayer who writes to me and sign it with a good clear signature.