Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for returning to the House. He is here almost on a weekly basis at this stage. This matter relates to accountability and the giving of information to the public, particularly as it applies to local authorities. I have raised the issue directly with the Minister and on the Order of Business.

We can consider the websites of those people working in the European Commission. I looked at the website of the director general of agriculture and rural development to find an entire page, with 89 departments within that section of the Commission, setting out the names of 89 people, who is responsible for a particular area and how these people can be contacted. I also looked at other areas, including the section dealing with energy, and it is interesting that with three officials there is a note of responsibilities and how they can be contacted but also an indication of them being placed at the disposal of the Greek task force. Not only do we know their department and how they can be contacted but also any additional responsibilities that can be given.

It is time we moved on with local authorities in Ireland, as there have been big complaints from the general public. Some local councillors might not like this proposal because it might give more information to the general public and reduce their role. We must open the information on local authorities to the public, particularly who is responsible for particular areas. The big complaint of the general public when contacting local authorities is finding a particular person is unavailable or a person listed as a contact is not the right person to deal with the issue.

We are talking about cutting red tape and each local authority in the country should put on its website who is in charge of particular departments, or who is responsible, for example, for housing matters. In Cork city that issue is divided into different parts of the city and somebody would also be in charge of maintenance. There would also be a person with responsibility for dealing with urgent matters. We are looking to provide clear information to the general public while making local authorities more efficient. We should also ensure information is passed to the right person or official within a reasonable period, and the general public should not have to make a number of phone calls to find out about a particular issue.

I ask that this matter be addressed on a nationwide basis. It is not a major request in a time when we talk about making information more widely available. We should do this at the earliest possible date.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. I thank Senator Burke for raising this matter on the Adjournment as it affords me the opportunity to outline the current position regarding customer services in local authorities. I have certain sympathy with the comments made in respect of local authorities providing full contact details on their websites. For local government to be effective, efficient and focused locally, however, it must be allowed to have a wide level of operational discretion. It is important that all citizens should be able to able to get assistance in services in their area. It is also important that local authority management ensure that elected members have access to the information they need to discharge their responsibilities effectively. If councillors, in particular, are dissatisfied with the level of contact information available to members of the public on a local authority website, I would urge them, as elected members, to bring the matter to the attention of the relevant council.

A local authority's corporate policy group would be the appropriate forum in which to discuss such issues, particularly if elected members are of the view that corporate action plans, customer service charters or citizens' charters require review or indeed the provision of full contact information on council websites. It is a matter in the first instance for each local authority to keep under review its systems and procedures with a view to improving standards of service to the general public and addressing any deficiencies which may come to light at local level.

In this regard, I am advised that a number of local authorities are currently reviewing their customer service charters and actions plans. In reviewing customer service charters and actions plans, local authorities must take into account the resources available to them and information systems put in place must be current, accurate and responsive to local conditions in order to provide effective and efficient services to citizens. The Government is committed to establishing a web-based system to allow residents to report non-emergency problems in their area, with a guaranteed turnaround of two days for a response to be posted on the website. As part of delivering this commitment, South Dublin County Council piloted the FixYourStreet website during the second half of 2011. Members of the public can report problems with street lighting, drainage, graffiti, waste collection and road and path maintenance in their neighbourhoods. I am pleased to report that in excess of 1,700 reports were uploaded to the website during the pilot phase. The average response time of South Dublin County Council to the queries raised was 1.6 days, less than the two working days deadline. This is a creditable performance and illustrates the benefit of flexibility of setting specific standards for specific circumstances. This initiative will be rolled out to other local authorities during 2012 and I expect them to be able to meet the response standards as part of the delivery of better and more efficient services through FixYourStreet.

Efficient and effective service to the public is one of the guiding principles informing the local government reform project and local government efficiency review. The local government efficiency review group, in its report of July 2010, acknowledged the commitment of local authorities to quality customer services.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. While I acknowledge that some progress has been made in the past 12 months and local authorities have websites in place, they still appear to be reluctant to identify officials and their responsibilities. Progress is required in this area. As I have noted on a number of occasions, I contacted the Revenue Commissioners when I started working in the legal profession many years ago and found that getting answers on any issues was a nightmare. I now consider the Revenue to be the best Government agency to contact because if the person on the line does not have responsibility for the area in question, one is informed of the name of the persons who have responsibility and issued with a comprehensive response within a short period. Given the high demand for local government services, I hope progress will soon be made in this regard. In light of the introduction of the household charge and other charges, it is vital that members of the public obtain value for money within a short timeframe.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I will pass on Senator Burke's concerns and suggestions to the Minister, Deputy Hogan. Some local authorities are doing exceptional work in maintaining an excellent service to the public. An examination of their work should establish the reasons they are doing exceptionally well. Having established these reasons, there is no reason we should not be able to roll out similar operational changes across the entire local authority system.