Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the proposal to require all public sector workers under the aegis of her Department who interface with service users to wear a name badge; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8565/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection administers over 70 separate schemes and services serving a wide and diverse group of customers daily including families, people in employment, unemployed people, people with disabilities, carers, and older people. The overall aim of the Department is to provide people with the information, financial support and other services that they require in a timely and customer friendly way. The Department is committed to delivering a high quality customer service to all its customers.

The Department’s Customer Charter and Action Plan 2013 - 2015 sets out the level of service customers can expect when dealing with the Department and its commitment to provide a professional, efficient, courteous and timely service to all customers. The Customer Charter is prominently displayed in all public offices and is also available on the Department’s website at .

Under the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour, civil servants are required to deal sympathetically, efficiently and promptly with members of the public. They are also required to give their names to any member of the public with whom they are dealing, except where given a special exemption, for example, on security grounds.

The Department operates a code of practice for Inspectors which requires Inspectors to identify themselves when interviewing a customer. Inspectors are also provided with a Certificate of Appointment which includes a photograph and this is shown to customers for identification purposes.

I wish to assure the Deputy that the Department is committed to ensuring that a customer service ethos is embedded in everything it does and is embraced by everyone in the organisation. While there is no current plan to introduce staff name badges, the Department will continue to consider and implement varied initiatives in order to further enhance the quality of our customer service provision.