Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
604. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the procedure in her Department for investigating complaints by service users; the timeframe within which it must respond to a person that makes a complaint; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4353/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is committed to delivering high quality customer service. Our Customer Charter and Customer Action Plan 2016-2018 sets out the commitments and standard of service that customers can expect in their dealings with the Department. Among them, customers should be served in a fair, courteous and timely manner, be informed of their rights and entitlements, be provided with full and clear information, and have their privacy respected.
Essentially, my Department aims to provide the best possible service at all times. To that end, a dedicated Customer Service Unit receives and processes a wide range of feedback from customers on their experiences of interacting 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. If the issue is not resolved to their satisfaction, customers can 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 (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.
Once a complaint is received, my Department endeavours to issue an acknowledgement by letter or email within three working days, and a case reference number is also issued to the customer. The complaint is then forwarded to the Customer Service Officer(s) within the relevant business area(s) to be investigated and responded to within 15 working days, where practicable. If it is not possible to issue a response within that period of time, an interim response will issue, explaining why the 15 day time frame cannot be met and providing details of an expected response date. All complaints will be dealt with promptly, fairly and impartially, and the outcome of the investigation will be reflected in the final response to the customer.
Customers are advised that if they are unhappy with the outcome of the investigation, they can request to have their complaint reviewed by another officer who was not involved in dealing with the original complaint, explaining why they are not satisfied with the initial response. If a review is to be conducted, a response should be provided to the customer within 20 working days.
Customers are also advised that if, after review, they are still unhappy with the outcome, they can contact the Office of the Ombudsman to seek to have the matter examined by that Office.
Overall, in its efforts to deliver the highest possible standard of customer service, my Department aims to provide its customers with a complaints procedure that is accessible, efficient, effective, standardised and fair.
