Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 22 Jun 1999

Vol. 506 No. 5

Written Answers. - Departmental Correspondence.

Jim O'Keeffe

Question:

202 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if there are guidelines relating to correspondence sent from his Department; if so, if he will outline details; if his attention has been drawn to the complaints on undated correspondence; and if he will put an end to this practice. [15927/99]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

Correspondence is one of the main forms of communication between my Department and its customers. The Department's Customer Action Plan 1998-99 contains a number of specific commitments in relation to correspondence as follows:

We will reply to your letters as soon as possible.

We will use "official" terms only where necessary.

We will ensure that all letters carry a contact name and telephone number.

My Department is committed to a continuous improvement in quality of service provided and to ensuring that all staff receive the necessary training and supports. A comprehensive customer service training programme has been developed with the overall objective of applying the principles of excellent customer service to all points of contact with both internal and external customers. The importance of high quality corre spondence is dealt with in a specific module of this training programme. This covers best practice in such matters as the format, structure and content of letters, including the requirement for all correspondence to be dated, with contact name and telephone number clearly outlined. The objective is that correspondence issued is clear, accurate, informative and that it deals with the issue at hand in a customer-friendly manner.

Currently, the delivery of the programme to approximately 1,500 staff in social welfare local offices is near completion. In the autumn the programme will be delivered to a further 1,300 staff across my Department.

As the Deputy will appreciate, there is a very large volume of correspondence with customers of the Department on a daily basis. If he would inform the Department of instances where specific difficulties have arisen they will be addressed.