Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2015
35. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the various mechanisms, offices and positions employed by her Department to monitor the quality of decisions of deciding officers and to monitor customer service performance of front-line staff within her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9316/15]
View answerEach year in the Department decisions are made on over two million claims across a range of schemes. The deciding officers (DOs) and Designated Persons (DPs) who make these decisions are very conscious of their obligations to customers. Every effort is made to ensure that people receive any entitlements due to them and that information and services are provided in a timely and customer-friendly manner.
Customers who are not satisfied with the initial decision on their claim are entitled to seek either an internal review or to appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) and are advised of this.
Measures to minimise incorrect decisions include management checks at local level and ongoing improvement to guidelines and advice. The Decisions Advisory Office within the Department has begun a process of examining decision files, identifying common errors, and issuing staff bulletins to advise staff of best practice. A major new training programme for DOs, DPs and others is also leading to ongoing improvements in decision making.
The Department also conducts surveys to establish baseline fraud and error levels for social welfare schemes. Recent surveys have found low levels of departmental error, such as 0.04% on widow/er’s and surviving civil partner’s contributory pensions; 0.01% on jobseeker's allowance; and none on child benefit.
There are regular meetings between the SWAO and officials of the Department to identify and resolve issues that give rise to appeals, in order to have more consistent application of the legislation and guidelines between the SWAO and the Department.
The Department demonstrates its ongoing commitment to a strong customer service ethos through the implementation of the Customer Charter and Action Plan 2013-2015 which sets out a range of mechanisms, such as customer surveys, aimed at ensuring that the Department delivers the highest levels of service to its customers. The Plan also commits all of the Department’s public offices to displaying the Customer Charter and the Customer Code of Conduct and compliance with this commitment is actively monitored.
The Department greatly values customer comments and suggestions on all aspects of its service delivery to ensure that its services consistently meet the needs of its customers.
