Phased restoration of telephone helpline services

[sraodas]

Over the past number of weeks priority has been given to the processing of applications and to deal with increased demand in areas such as re-entry visas. We are now in a position to resume our telephone helpline service on a phased basis over the period 13th to 30th September, 2010.

please click
www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/WP10000007

[fatty patty]

Over the past number of weeks priority has been given to the processing of applications and to deal with increased demand in areas such as re-entry visas. We are now in a position to resume our telephone helpline service on a phased basis over the period 13th to 30th September, 2010.

please click
www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/WP10000007

It baffles me sometimes how lame ar*e can public services be, no one is proactive and thinking outside the box. All they gotta do is just give the contract of manning phone lines to premium rate companies like the brits have done for their visa services.

1. It will deter people to ring willy nilly as they know that its gonna cost 1.50 per min to ring about how to send an envelope in the post (not that i am saying many do ring just for that )

2. It will raise revenue for the private contractor to provide MUCH NEEDED jobs here.

3. It will give staff in INIS more time to get on with the important job at hand which is ......... make TEA!!!

yea but no thats not gonna happen now is it!

[agniukas]

fat patty, that's actually a great idea. i like it. but if that happened, all the applicants will be complaining again... too expensive, already paying taxes and so on...

[fatty patty]

fat patty, that's actually a great idea. i like it. but if that happened, all the applicants will be complaining again... too expensive, already paying taxes and so on...

Thats our constitutional right to whing agniukas... And like the DoJ gonna give a monkey about what foreigners complains (as they certainly don't give a baboon about turtle action on naturalization process, IBC, re-entry queues, EUFam, naturalization cert delays, Visa process etc. etc.).

Although fair play to them that they have a pretty good informative website setup already for general queries ( www.inis.gov.ie ) where alot of answers can be sought if we look properly.

[9jeirean]

fat patty, that's actually a great idea. i like it. but if that happened, all the applicants will be complaining again... too expensive, already paying taxes and so on...

I doubt if anyone would complain about paying a small amount on calls if it would improve efficiency. Plus fatty patty is on the money (no pun intended) about it discouraging people who do not have genuine reasons to call. It doesn't get any more expensive than Eur950 with nothing to show for it on the part of INIS does it? + This kind of arrangement has been proven to work in other not so far jurisdiction as fatty patty alluded. The only thing is, would the latent bureaucratic set up at the INIS allow that to happen?

[agniukas]

well, it could be set up to be answered by the same sections that are processing applications. it it would eliminate the callers that are calling for nothing (no proper reason) due to the cost. then more callers could be dealt with that need to talk to the section.
i doubt it would be possible to outsource that by an outside company due to data protection.

[fatty patty]

well, it could be set up to be answered by the same sections that are processing applications. it it would eliminate the callers that are calling for nothing (no proper reason) due to the cost. then more callers could be dealt with that need to talk to the section.
i doubt it would be possible to outsource that by an outside company due to data protection.

I am not suggesting for it to be transferred to New Delhi or Bangalore....I am asking for data to be visible in a read-only format to the private contractor here just like the brits have done for their visa service (if data protection would have been a biggie then the brits wouldn't have done that). Even the department can add premium rate numbers themselves, this way they will raise much needed revenue + less callers who are asking basic question which are availble on website anyway.