Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 355: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if his Department has carried out a study of opening hours of public offices under the control or remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31997/07]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 357: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the opening hours of his Department's public offices and public phone lines and if they close for lunch; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32047/07]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 358: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the opening hours for the public offices and telephone lines and if they close for lunch for each of the agencies and State bodies that are under the control of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32062/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 355, 357 and 358 together.

The work of my core Department is such that there are a limited number of personal callers and therefore no demand for a dedicated public office at the Department's premises in Dublin or Fossa, Killarney.

To meet the needs of members of the public who do wish to contact my Department a Customer Charter has been agreed to deal with all forms of contact. This Charter, available on my Department's website, sets out the standards of service members of the public are entitled to expect from staff in my Department. The Charter is kept under review by my Department's Partnership Committee and revised as appropriate.

The National Archives of Ireland, which is part of my Department, provides services directly to members of the public. It has a Reading Room which is open to the public from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday and it remains open at lunchtime.

The extension of the Reading Room opening hours is an objective of National Archives management and they are currently working towards delivery of a commitment of extended opening to the public of at least three hours per week during 2008 in the context of the Department's Action Plan under Towards 2016.

In the meantime, the National Archives has concentrated on expanding the resources available on its website. This is reflected in the very high levels of traffic on the site. In the six months from 1 May to 31 October 2007 there were just under 9 million hits on the National Archives website, or an average of 48,342 hits per day, which makes the National Archives website one of the busiest in Ireland. Online access to the 1901 and 1911 Census returns, which will be provided incrementally over 2008, and which began with the launch of the Dublin 1911 returns on Monday of this week, is expected to increase these figures exponentially.

The opening hours of agencies under the control of my Department are a matter for the agencies themselves. Information on opening hours and telephone line availability are available directly from the agencies or from their websites.

The mark Culture Night 2007 I invited all of the Cultural Institutions funded by my Department to look at extending their opening hours. My officials are currently pursuing the matter and I hope to make an announcement early in the New Year.