Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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289. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the customer complaints received by his Department in each of the years since 2016; if the complaints are grouped into categories; the nature of the complaints; the resolution of same; and the number progressed to the relevant Ombudsman in each of the years since 2016. [1877/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department is very conscious of the need to provide the highest level of service to our customers. All staff in my Department are committed to ensuring that the twelve principles of Quality Customer Service are embedded in everything we do.

The number of complaints received in the years in question is shown in the following table.

The complaints received in 2017 and 2018 related to Quality Customer Service Principle 5 (Timeliness and Courtesy) and those complaints have been addressed by the Department’s Quality Service Officer. Unfortunately, competing deadlines can mean that, on occasion, some queries sent to the Department are not answered in strict accordance with the timelines set out in our Quality Customer Service Charter and Action Plan and this can give rise to complaints. Due to the sensitive and complex nature of some of the original queries which gave rise to the complaints, it is not possible to confirm that these have been fully resolved.

To the knowledge of my Department, none of the complaints listed in the table have been referred to the Office of the Ombudsman to date.