Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 2001

Vol. 529 No. 1

Written Answers. - Departmental E-mail System.

Seán Haughey

Question:

998 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the e-mail address to which members of the public should send queries relating to his Department; if his Department routinely replies to e-mails sent by the public; the time-scale for such responses; if e-mail enquiries addressed to officials in his Department are also processed within that time-scale; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1059/01]

Richard Bruton

Question:

1063 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the arrangements he has in place to respond to e-mail queries to the address posted on the Department's website; the number of e-mail queries received during the last quarter of 2000; the number of these which had not received any response from the Department by 19 January 2001; and if he will make a statement on the adequacy of the system for responding to such e-mail queries. [1963/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 998 and 1,063 together.

My Department's policy in relation to e-mail is that it is treated in the same manner as any other means of communication with the Department e.g. letter, fax, telephone etc. Under my Department's customer service action plan, the Department is committed to working towards issuing replies to queries within 20 working days where possible. In some cases, it is not possible to comply with this guideline where, for example, substantial research into or examination of issues is required. There is no distinction drawn between e-mail and any other method of communication in this regard: it must be opened, read, evaluated and responded to within the timelines set out in the Department's customer service plan.

With regard to the contact address for my Department and the method by which e-mail is dealt with on arrival including the systems and procedures in place, the position is as follows. There are a number of e-mail addresses on the Department's website. In addition to a general contact address ([e-mail]), there is a separate e-mail address for each of the major work areas of the Department:

Citizenship;

Courts;

Law Reform (Criminal);

Law Reform (Civil);

Equality Matters;

EU Matters;

Garda Síochána (Administration);

Immigration;

Minister;

Minister of State;

Press Office (Department Press Office);

Prisons and Places of Detention;

Probation and Welfare Service.

When a topic or document of particular interest is published on the site, or it is expected that interested parties will wish to make requests, observations and submissions on a particular issue of public interest, additional e-mails contact addresses are created – these will often be placed on the website for a defined period of time. The rationale behind this structure is as follows:

(a)It is more customer focused as the sender is aware they are sending their query to a specific division or submitting requests-material etc. to an address specifically created for that purpose,

(b)once e-mail is received in the Department it is automatically routed to the area concerned thus ensuring that e-mails are not stored for distribution and reducing the risk of e-mail being sent to an incorrect area, and

(c)e-mail is not addressed to an individual from the web-site thus reducing the difficulties caused by staff changes or mail residing in incoming mail boxes if an individual is not available.

In addition to the above website based structure, all staff in the Department have individual e-mail addresses and large volumes of e-mails are sent and received and no distinction is drawn with regard to processing requirement between mails received directly and those received via the website. E-mails entering the Department arise for a number of reasons, for example requests for information, replies to requests from departmental staff, material transmitted between State offices etc. The policy is that e-mails received in this way should be forwarded to the appropriate mail-enabled document library for whatever action is necessary, thereby joining the mainstream of documents and correspondence being dealt with by the Department. My Department has a project under way to blend incoming paper correspondence with the electronic filing systems.

In addition, limited use of personal e-mail is allowed. Finally, as with all organisations or individuals using e-mail the Department receives large numbers of unsolicited junk e-mail, mail containing viruses – which are blocked and do not enter the system. For these reasons and because of the way incoming e-mails are automatically routed as outlined above, the information sought in respect of the numbers of pieces of e-mail coming in and the response rate cannot be compiled.

There is one exception to the acceptance of e-mails, that is, when it is necessary to have a document signed or verified by the sender. In these circumstances ordinary e-mail does not yet have equivalence with other forms of signature. In this regard my Department is actively participating in various electronic Government projects to promote the use of secure digital signatures as a means of identification for transactions, notably the e-broker project approved by Government last year. There is no doubt that e-mail is becoming an increasingly important means of contact between my Department and its clients. My Department regularly reviews emerging technologies in the area to ensure that any benefits both from a customer service perspective and administrative efficiency are taken on board.

Question No. 999 answered with Question No. 977.