Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 January 2014
348. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which agency staff have been used in her Department in each of the past five years for the purpose of answering and transferring calls on their switchdesk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55440/13]
View answerThe Department has used both the National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI) and Eircom for switchboard staff in each of the last five years. The total number of telephone calls managed through the switchdesks operated by these switchboard staff in 2013 was 513,255.
The Department is embarking on a major overhaul of its telephony systems which will extend, as far as is practical, the use of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and other technologies to route calls automatically. The Deputy will appreciate that, in the Social Protection area, it is likely that there will always be groups of customers who will need direct personal intervention to help them reach the appropriate area in the department for assistance.
