Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the recourse a person or group has if they are of the view that a company, which is opening a contract awarded to them by a county council, is not carrying out the terms of the contract. [10366/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The first recourse such a person or group would have is to the relevant county council and to their Customer Service Plan, or similar document. My Department has issued guidelines to local authorities for dealing with customer complaints. A copy of these guidelines can be downloaded from www.environ.ie.

Some local authorities have put in place a multiple stage procedure for dealing with customer complaints, the first of which is discussing the complaint at the point of service, as it is usually the quickest and most efficient way to address the matter. If a complainant is unhappy with the outcome of the first stage a formal complaint can be made to the Authority's Customer Services Officer. If the matter is not resolved following engagement with the local authority, it is open to the complainant to bring the matter to the attention of the Office of the Ombudsman.