The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources are inviting public consultation on our External Customer Service Charter. The final document will set out in clear and unambiguous language the level of service that customers can expect. The charter will include a framework that facilitates us, as a service provider, to measure and improve the quality of services and to report this publicly.
Copies of the draft charter may be obtained from Patricia Travers, Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Elm House, Earlsvale Road Cavan. Submissions may be made by interested parties in writing to Ms. Patricia Travers at the same address or by email to patricia.travers@dcenr.gov.ie
Submissions should be received by the 23rd January, 2009.
CUSTOMER CHARTER
Introduction
The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is committed to maintaining and improving its commitment to, and delivery of, the highest standards of quality customer service.
This Charter sets out the standards of service you are entitled to expect from the Department for the period 2008-2010.
OUR COMMITMENTS TO YOU
The Department will deliver a quality service with courtesy, sensitivity and the minimum delay with mutual respect between provider and customer.
Telephone Enquiries
- Our LoCall number is 1890 44 99 00.
- We will answer your call as promptly as possible – our aim is to answer all calls within 20 seconds.
- We will identify ourselves and our area of work.
- We will be helpful and courteous at all times and provide you with as much information as possible.
- If we cannot deal with your query immediately, we will take your details and call you back at a time which suits you.
- We will respond to all voicemail messages promptly, and, as a general rule, aim to respond by the following day at the latest.
Written Correspondence
- We will acknowledge all correspondence, including emails, within 3 working days of receiving your communication.
- We will endeavour to comprehensively answer your correspondence within 20 working days.
- If it is not possible to answer within this period, we will send you an interim reply, explaining the position and indicating when you can expect a definitive response.
- We will ensure that all correspondence contains a contact name, telephone number (including lo-call number, if available), reference number (where appropriate), fax number and email address.
Personal Callers
- All visitors to our offices will be treated with respect and courtesy, ensuring that there is no discrimination on grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller Community.
- All callers who have appointments will be received promptly once staff are informed of their arrival.
- We will do our best to accommodate you if you don’t have an appointment.
- We will provide appropriate facilities for meetings and ensure that our offices are safe, clean and accessible.
Information
- We will provide our customers with clear, accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information on our policies, schemes and services.
- We will ensure that this information is available at all points of contact, and will endeavour, as far as possible, to make it available in formats which meet the requirements of customers with special needs.
- We will use clear simple language in the design of our application forms and information leaflets.
- We will produce comprehensive explanatory material/guidelines on the Department’s services, as appropriate.
- Our website (http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/) will be up-to-date, relevant, user friendly and accessible to all our customers, including those with visual disabilities.
Complaints/Appeals Procedure
- If you are unhappy with the quality of service you have received, you have the right to complain.
- If you are dissatisfied with decisions in relation to services for which a statutory right of appeal does not exist, you have the right to appeal.
- If it is not possible to resolve the complaint with the staff member or business unit with whom you have been dealing you can address your complaint to the Customer Services Manager.
- All complaints will be dealt with properly, fairly and impartially. If your complaint is upheld and/or we have made a mistake we will rectify the mistake, and furnish you with an explanation and an apology.
- If you remain dissatisfied, we will inform you of your further right to bring the matter before the Ombudsman.
Consultation/Feedback
- We welcome and encourage you to provide us with feedback.
Evaluation/Reporting
- We will evaluate our performance by measuring the delivery of services using correspondence tracking.
- We will report on our performance in our Annual Report and on our website (http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/).
Service through Irish
- We will make every effort to accommodate customers who telephone or visit the Department and who wish to conduct their business in Irish without detriment to the speed or quality of service provided.
- Correspondence received in Irish will be answered in Irish.
- We will publish simultaneously in Irish and English a number of key documents relating to the Department, including our Strategy Statement and the Annual Report. Material in Irish will also be included in the Department’s website (http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/).
Where to find us
The Department’s Headquarters is located at 29–31 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2.
Our other offices are located at:
Leeson Lane, Dublin 2.
Beggars Bush, Haddington Road, Dublin 4.
Elm House, Earlsvale Road, Cavan
Contact details
Department offices:
Telephone: (01) 678 2000
You can telephone a staff member directly at (01) 678 + extension number if known to you.
Lo-call number: 1890 44 99 00
Fax: (01) 6783057
Website: http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/
Staff email: firstname.lastname@dcenr.gov.ie
Customer Services Manager:
Caroline Henry
Strategic Change Unit
Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
Elm House
Earlsvale Road, Cavan
Tel: (01) 678 2070
Fax: (01) 678 3058
Email: Caroline.henry@dcenr.gov.ie
Office of the Ombudsman
18 Lower Leeson Street
Dublin 2
Telephone: (01) 6395600
LoCall: 1890 22 30 30
Fax: (01) 6395674
Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.ie
Web: http://www.ombudsman.gov.ie/