Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 March 2013
226. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has considered the use of, or implemented, integrated voice response systems in his Department's phone systems or in the phone systems of agencies within his remit; if the staff and salary cost savings which might arise have been assessed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14493/13]
View answerMy Department currently uses integrated voice response systems in a limited number of circumstances as appropriate. In the majority of offices calls are handled directly by locally-based staff, or are redirected as appropriate to staff at other locations. Staff are normally assigned to telephony duties on a rota basis, in parallel with their other administrative duties. The ability to handle calls in multiple locations has been a key facilitator of ongoing organisational restructuring of my Department at a Local Office level and has allowed for the re-deployment of staff to higher priority tasks, both within my Department and to other Departments.
As regards the details requested in relation to the agencies that fall under my Department’s remit, this would be an operational matter for the agencies themselves.
