Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 June 2013
246. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that all letters sent out to social welfare applicants regarding their claims have the name of a departmental official on them to ensure that applicants can properly deal with queries or concerns they may have regarding their claims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29202/13]
View answerMy Department processes over 2 million applications annually in respect of various schemes and services. These applications are processed by deciding officers who are appointed under legislation to make decisions on a customer’s eligibility. The relevant legislation provides that decisions on social welfare claims must be set out in writing and signed by the deciding officer.
Other communications, including those requesting additional information or verifying a customer's continuing eligibility, may be system generated and automatically issued to customers. While some of these may not be signed by an individual officer, contact details for the relevant scheme areas are always included in such communications for ease of access, should the customer have a query.
My Department is committed to providing a professional, efficient and courteous service to all customers. The level of service that customers can expect when dealing with my Department is set out in the Customer Charter and Action Plan 2013 – 2015 which is available on the Department's website at www.welfare.ie.
