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Departmental Correspondence

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

Questions (1119)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

1119. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the customer complaints received by her Department in each of the years since 2016; if the complaints are grouped into categories; the nature of the complaints; the resolution of same; and the number progressed to the relevant Ombudsman in each of the years since 2016. [1871/19]

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Written answers

My Department aims to provide the best possible service at all times. The scale of the Department is very significant; it deals with over 70 separate schemes and services and processed a total of 82.2 million individual payments in 2017, with 1.6 million weekly social welfare payments being made every single week. The Department is committed to providing an excellent service to those we engage with and provide services to. Complaints are categorized by complaint location and nature of complaint. The Department does not have data on the number of complaints which are progressed to the Office of the Ombudsman.

We have a dedicated Customer Service Unit that receives and processes a wide range of feedback from customers on their experiences with the Department. Our Customer Charter and Customer Action Plan sets out the commitments and standard of service that customers can expect in their dealings with the Department.

Where customers are dissatisfied with the standard of service that they have received, in the first instance, they are advised to convey their concerns to the staff member or section of the Department with which they have been dealing for resolution. If the issue is not resolved to their satisfaction, customers can then submit a formal complaint. They can do so in a number of different ways, such as by letter, by email, or online using a Customer Feedback Form, which can be accessed on my Department’s website:https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/secure/Submit-a-comment-or-compliment.aspx. Alternatively, customers can make contact by phone or they can speak face to face to a member of staff in any of our Intreo centres around the country.

If the customer is dissatisfied with the response received they can request to have their complaint reviewed by another independent officer, not previously involved in the original complaint investigation. If customers are not satisfied with the response to the review, they are advised that they can contact the Office of the Ombudsman to have their complaint examined by that office.

Number of Complaints received

2016 1,112

2017 1,045

2018 1,808

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