Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Statistics on the number or nature of cases that are referred to the Office of the Ombudsman or to the Courts are not held by the Department.

The number of complaints recorded by the Department from January 2011 to date:

	“Officer Named” Complaints	Non Officer Named Complaints	Total Received
Year 2011	103	1,631	1,734
Year 2012	102	1,465	1,567
Year 2013	171	1,044	1, 215
Year 2014	149	652	801

My Department’s Customer Charter and Action Plan 2013-2015 sets out the level of service customers can expect to receive. The Department monitors its performance through the use of its management information systems and through consultation with customers using a variety of methods, including receiving feedback through the Comments and Complaints system.

If a customer is dissatisfied with the standard of service they receive, they can contact the staff member or section involved to have the matter dealt with. If this does not resolve the issue to their satisfaction, they can make a complaint to the Quality Customer Service Team by telephone, in writing or on line at www.welfare.ie. Their complaint will be dealt with promptly, fairly and impartially. Receipt of the complaint will be acknowledged, and it will be referred to a complaints officer for investigation. A response to the customer normally issues within 15 working days of the date of receipt of the complaint.

If the complaint remains unresolved, the customer is advised of their right of further appeal to the Office of the Ombudsman.