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Customer Service Charter 2024 – 2026
This Charter sets out the standard of service we aim to provide to people who contact us.
December 2024
Who we are
The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) is an independent human rights organisation established in 2004 under the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002. The Ombudsman for Children is appointed by the president and reports directly to the Oireachtas (Irish parliament). The Ombudsman for Children is Dr Niall Muldoon.
We have two main functions:
- to deal with complaints about children’s services provided by public organisations; and
- to promote the rights and welfare of children and young people under 18 living in Ireland.
Our vision and values
Our Vision and Values reflect what we want to achieve for children.
We will use our powers and independent status to bring about an Ireland where society hears and respects all children and supports them so they are safe and fulfilled in their lives.
The purpose of this Charter
This Customer Service Charter sets out the standard of service that customers can expect from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO). We outline in the Charter the processes and procedures we follow to help us achieve a high-quality customer service.
In line with good practice as set out in the Government publication Customer Charter Initiative and Guidelines, we are committed to working towards a continuous four-step cycle.
These four steps are:
- Consultation with customers and other stakeholders
- Commitment to service standards
- Evaluation of performance
- Reporting on results
Our Customer Charter outlines:
A. The standard of service you can expect when you contact us
B. How your feedback can help us to improve our service
C. Our customer complaints procedure
D. How to contact us
Please read on to find out more about each of these
A: The standard of service you can expect
Our commitment to customer service
The OCO commits to deliver services that are:
- accessible;
- of high quality; and
- focused to meet your needs in a timely manner.
We do this by following the Guiding Principles for Quality Customer Service.
Our commitment to accessibility
We will respect and accommodate diversity and ensure your right to equal treatment as much as possible by providing:
- accessible offices;
- child-friendly spaces and resources;
- translation and interpretation services; and
- sign language
We will provide information in plain English to make sure that we support and help disabled people as needed. We have an Accessibility Officer who you can contact with any requests or concerns about accessibility: oco@oco.ie
Visiting the office
If you have an appointment in our office, we will meet and greet you in a timely, courteous and fair manner. We will make sure:
- a member of staff is available to meet you
- our staff know where in the building your meeting is, and that a staff member can bring you there; and
- the meeting area is suitable for its purpose.
Written correspondence including email
If you write to us, we will;
- acknowledge all general enquiries within 5 working days;
- include a contact name and details when replying; and
- aim to answer your query promptly and in line with regulations.
If we cannot answer your query, we will explain why and tell you when you can expect a full reply.
Phone contact
If you call us, we will:
- answer your call or respond to a voice message as promptly as possible during working hours;
- give our name when we answer a call;
- always be courteous and professional;
- answer your query on the spot if we can.
If we can’t answer your query, we’ll take your details and call you back as soon as possible.
Our service through Irish
With regard to the Irish language, we will:
- make every effort to accommodate those who wish to deal with us through Irish;
- ensure that correspondence received in Irish will be answered in Irish;
- publish key documents, such as our strategy statements and annual reports, in Irish and English; and
- work to meet our commitments under the Official Languages Act 2003.
B: How your feedback can help us to improve our service
We welcome feedback about the quality of our service. We use your feedback to help us to improve our service, which, in turn, helps us to meet your needs.
You can contribute to this process by:
- sending us your comments or suggestions;
- telling us about the service you received, particularly if you believe that it didn’t reach the standard you expect; and
- taking part in any customer survey we send you and by sharing your views with us.
C: Our customer complaints procedure
If you are not satisfied with the quality of our Customer Service, please first raise the matter with the person you are dealing with.
| Participation and Rights Education Team | education@oco.ie |
| Policy Team | policy@oco.ie |
| Communications Team | communications@oco.ie |
| Corporate Services Team | oco@oco.ie |
| Complaints and Investigations Team | ococomplaint@oco.ie |
The team involved in the complaint will:
- acknowledge receiving your complaint within 5 working days;
- handle the complaint with the relevant senior staff member; and
- address your issue and contact you within 15 working days.
Formal complaint
If this issue cannot be resolved to your satisfaction you can make a formal complaint to our Corporate Services Team by emailing oco@oco.ie.
When the Corporate Services Team receives the complaint, they will:
- acknowledge receiving your complaint within 5 working days; and
- try to deal with it within 20 working days.
If the issue relates to the Corporate Services Team you can send your complaint to communications@oco.ie.
They will work to the same timeframes above.
D: How to contact the OCO
By post:
Ombudsman for Children’s Office
Millennium House
First Floor
52-56 Great Strand Street
Dublin 1
DO1 F5P8
By phone: +353 1 865 6800
Phone lines are open Monday to Friday between 09.00 and 17.00
By email: oco@oco.ie
Ceisteanna as Gaeilge: ombudsmandoleanai@oco.ie
Specific enquiries
For complaints relating to a public service only, you can email:
fill out an online form
Complaints Freephone line: 1800 20 20 40
Phone lines are open Monday to Friday between 10.00 and 16.00
Other emails
| Workshops | education@oco.ie |
| Media queries | communications@oco.ie |
| Freedom of Information requests | policy@oco.ie |
| Data Protection queries and requests | oco@xpertdpo.com |
| Accessibility queries | oco@oco.ie |
Further information and useful links
You may find the following information and links useful.
