Seán Doherty
Question:31 Mr. Doherty asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he has received the INOU document entitled, Standards of Services for Welfare Recipients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4024/96]
Written Answers. - Welfare Services.
Noel Davern
Question:45 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for Social Welfare the proposals, if any, he envisages introducing which would result in an improvement in the quality of welfare services to recipients throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1219/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 45 together.
The document to which the Deputy refers is based on a survey of the quality and conditions of service for social welfare recipients at social welfare local offices, health board offices, post offices and Garda stations. While the survey was limited it highlights issues that have been and are continuing to be addressed by the Department in an active way.
The Department has made significant progress in recent years in improving the quality of services provided to social welfare recipients and will continue to do so.
The regional management structure introduced a number of years ago has enabled a more focused and co-ordinated approach at local level to the delivery of services to customers.
Local access to the full range of social services is an important objective. A continuing programme of investment in accommodation means that there is a growing number of more modern offices. My Department is also in the process of modernising its computer systems in its local offices, to support a wider range of information and other services for people.
The introduction of the employment support service has given pro-active support to the unemployed, particularly to the long-term unemployed, to facilitate their access to an enhanced range of work, training and development opportunities.
The strategic management initiative has presented my Department with the opportunity to build on these initiatives and improving customer service is one of the priority areas for action.
The primary objective is to develop and build upon the existing customer service culture across all activities of the Department with the aim of ensuring high standards of service, value for money, efficiency, courtesy and accountability.
The programme of action over the next few years will include; further development of local social welfare offices to ensure that people have improved access to services, better privacy facilities, better information, and, when possible, access to complementary services provided by other statutory agencies; new payment, facilities; a concerted drive to simplify social welfare services, access to them, and information about them and better information about entitlements.
The Department relies extensively on feedback from customers as a valuable input to help improve services. As part of this feedback process, sample surveys of people in receipt of various benefits including those in receipt of unemployment payments have been carried out by the Department over the past number of years. In addition, the Department invites comments from members of the public through comment cards which are available at all our main offices. The Department also has a number of customer panels in place where officials and customers meet on a regular basis to discuss issues, concerns and improvements generally. To complement these activities my Department is also conducting a nationwide survey on customer service using independent market research consultancy.
My aim is for an efficient, professional and responsive system that will serve the needs of all those who come in contact with the social welfare system.