Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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78. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to what extent the customer service charter operating in her Department extends to external contractors who carry out customer service elements and functions under her remit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38825/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department’s customer charter contains a commitment to deliver a high quality service to all customers. It outlines what the Department will do for its customer, what the Department expects from its customer, the rights and responsibilities of jobseekers and it also provides a mechanism for customer feedback.

The main contracted providers that deliver customer facing services on behalf of the Department are An Post, who make payments on behalf of the Department; the Local Employment Service (LES), Job Clubs and the JobPath companies (Seetec and Turas Nua), all of whom who provide employment activation services for jobseekers.

An Post has its own customer charter that mirrors the values set out in the department’s charter. LES and Job Clubs are required to adhere to a code of practice that is set out in the terms and conditions of their contracts while JobPath companies are obliged under their contracts to provide “service statements” that set out the minimum level of service that a jobseeker can expect to receive from the companies. The minimum elements to be included in these service statements were specified by the Department. All of our clients whether served directly by the Department or via a contracted service provider have access to the Department's own customer service complaint’s process.