merrion street

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr Phil Hogan TD., today (27/09/2013) attended the National Q Mark Awards in the Burlington Hotel Dublin. The National Q Mark Awards recognises companies and organisations that have successfully implemented the Q Mark programme of choice.

Speaking at the awards Minister Hogan spoke on the importance of quality customer service and how this can be better affected in the local government sector, “Putting People First, our Local Government reform plan which I published in October 2012 seeks to deliver that high quality service to public service customers. The drafting of legislation to implement it is well-advanced. I am building that high quality service into local government service provision in Ireland. This will result in a more efficient delivery of services to the public, while enhancing the overall consumer experience. This forms part of the governments overall political reform agenda.”

From 2014 the proceeds of the Local Property Tax (LPT) will finance local authority operations, and the people who pay the charge must be at the heart of everything that local authorities do.

The Minister emphasised the importance of having measurable performance indicators, he said that “I have included a commitment in Putting People First, to undertake a review of the current suite of Service Indicators, and I expect that the review will result in a move to more qualitative (quality of service) indictors, concerned with ensuring that the best possible service is provided for the consumer. Increased emphasis will be placed on finding out customer’s expectations and requirements and their experience of service delivery in their local authority. Indictors should also reflect value for money and the cost effective use of resources by local authorities.

Minister Hogan also addressed the issue of the new building control regulations which will come into force in 2014; “The new approach establishes a clear chain of responsibility for building works prior to commencement through to completion, in a system where lack of such a chain led to disastrous failures with dire consequences for the lives of homeowners and families, as soon as these regulations become operational, homeowners who encounter a problem with a building will be in a radically better place. They will be able to immediately access information which can lead them towards a solution to the problem. Consumer protection is all about maintaining and controlling information, this is the first time we’ve had such protection in this area.”