Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 September 2007
594 Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of complaints logged to his Department in 2007 regarding the telephone service with the family income supplement section of his Department being unanswered; the average number of staff working in the FIS section answering telephones for members of the general public for the TD enquiries for each week of the months, May, June, July, August and September 2007. [20215/07]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department actively promotes the uptake of the Family Income Supplement (FIS) scheme. Following improvements to the scheme in the 2006 budget and an extensive advertising campaign, the number of people applying for a FIS payment increased substantially, so that some 26,900 new and renewal claims have been received in 2007. This increase resulted in delays in processing claims and as a consequence higher volumes of telephone calls were received in FIS section. The number of incoming calls to the section for the period from early May 2007 to mid September 2007 totalled some 71,500 and this has put pressure on the telephone service.
As part of its commitment to providing a quality service to all its customers, my Department operates a formal customer complaints system that enables customers to register complaints on any aspect of the service across all its schemes.
The principal measure introduced in relation to delays in answering calls is the setting up of phone bank system. All incoming calls from the general public will be routed through a dedicated phone bank manned by a designated number of staff on a rota basis.
There is a direct line to the section for TD enquiries with responsibility assigned to one staff member and there is a back-up number when the line is busy. TD queries will continue to be dealt with on one direct line but a further five extensions will be available as backup in case the line is busy.
In response to the difficulties being experienced in the section a number of organisational and procedural changes have been implemented this, together with measures aimed at reducing the number of claims on hand, will enable FIS section to improve the quality of its telephone service. The position will be closely monitored and kept under review by my Department.
