The Department of Transport has put in place a detailed Customer Charter which sets out the processes, standards and outlines expectations for any external contact with the Department. As set out in the Customer Charter, the standards which the Department endeavours to adhere to include the following:
• Written response within 20 working days, where possible
• Acknowledge receipt of email correspondence within 2 working days
• Use of clear and plain language, with explanation of any technical terms as necessary
• Provision of service through the Irish Language, per the Irish Language Act
In general, correspondence is registered in the electronic e-Correspondence system as a formal representation and is addressed appropriately using information and input from any divisions which have a role in relation to the content of the representation.
The use of the e-Correspondence system is preferred as it provides both official record keeping as aligned with the Department’s obligations under the National Archives Act, as well as facilitating monitoring of correspondence levels and response performances.
The e-Correspondence system is monitored and managed by the Minister and Minister of State private offices within the Department for compliance with the above. Reminders are sent to Divisions where timelines are not met.
Further information is sought where necessary, in order to ensure that matters like duplicate receipts or repeated contacts are well managed, and that all requesters receive the service outlined within the Customer Charter. An overview of the status of e-Correspondence cases with the Department is provided to the Management Board on a monthly basis.
While the Department endeavours to meet its obligations as set out above, each individual request must be addressed on its own merit and in its own context. The broad remit of the Department can mean that some requests, particularly those which address specialist or technical matters, can move beyond the 20 working day response timeline to ensure an accurate and comprehensive response.
My office and officials within the Department will continue to monitor the overall performance of the e-Correspondence system and will seek at all times to adhere as closely as possible to the customer charter in order to ensure that all requests are dealt with appropriately.
