Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on whether there has been a substantial increase in recent years in the number of citizens who feel forced to make representations to elected politicians regarding their interactions with the public service; his views on whether several negative consequences are risked from this trend, in particular an increase in political clientelism; if, in the process of reform he is undertaking, he proposes to address any rise in clientelism between elected representatives and their constituents by improving the interface for the citizen when they engage with the public service; if he will detail these proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51560/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I do not have any data relating to the number of citizens making representations to politicians regarding their interactions with the public service.

A central platform of this Government’s reform agenda is to substantially improve the levels of openness, transparency and accountability in politics and in the public service. Significant progress is being made in this area in relation to, for example, the extension of the Ombudsman’s remit, establishing a legal framework for Oireachtas inquiries, reform and extension of Freedom of Information, regulation of lobbying and the introduction of comprehensive whistleblower protections on a pan-sectoral basis.

Similarly, the Government’s Public Service Reform Plan, published last November, includes five core commitments. One of these is “Placing Customer Service at the core of everything we do”. The Reform Plan sets out a range of actions to improve the citizen’s access to and interaction with Government services by providing more integrated services through more efficient and accessible channels, by reducing the information and administrative burden and by engaging with citizens and business customers in the design and delivery of services. It is also worth remembering that the demands on many public services are now greater than ever before, due to the current crisis and demographic changes.

It should be noted that engaging with the citizen and improving customer services are key and ongoing considerations for all Government Departments and Agencies. In this regard, the ongoing Customer Charter initiative involves a process whereby Departments and Agencies are required to consult with customers, to set service standards, to measure progress against those standards and to report publicly on their performance.