Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The development, promotion and implementation of the quality customer service, QCS, initiative has been driven in recent years mainly by two groups, the QCS officers' network and the QCS research group, both of which meet four or five times each year. The QCS officers' network continues to work intensively on the development and implementation of a range of customer service issues, including promotion of the customer charter approach. This is an important initiative whereby public service organisations publicly commit to service standards and then measure and report on progress made.

Arising from the recent review of customer charters, revised guidelines for the preparation of charters and customer action plans have been produced and will be published shortly. The QCS research group has recently been involved in the development of a major survey of customer satisfaction levels and attitudes towards the Civil Service. Such surveys will now be conducted on an annual basis beginning with a survey of general public customers to commence in the coming weeks. A similar survey of business customers will be undertaken later this year.

A new task force on customer service has also been established to consider and bring forward proposals on how best to enhance and deepen the quality of customer service in key front line areas of the Civil Service and wider public service, as well as to consider the various commitments to customer service made in the programme for Government. This task force, which is made up of senior officials from Departments, offices and agencies, is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The task force has met four times since it was set up last September and will submit its final report in early 2009.

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