Really Excellent Public Services in Ireland that aren't Shambolic

Tpcl20

How about a thread to discuss all of the brilliant services run by the Government of Ireland - ones which are operating at full pelt, running smoothly and provide a crucial lifeline to people.

I would start what I'd imagine will be an extensive list but I'm just trying to think of one there.

Here are the government depts listed on https://www.gov.ie/en/help/departments/

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Department of Defence

Department of Education

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Department of Finance

Department of Foreign Affairs

Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

Department of Health

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Department of Justice

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Department of Rural and Community Development

Department of Social Protection

Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications

Department of the Taoiseach

Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

Department of Transport

Does anybody have a complimentary review of one of the 209 agencies which operate within those?

Tpcl20

Don't all jump at once.

Ok, here are some: https://www.citizensinformationboard.ie/en/

MABS is actually very helpful when you contact them
https://www.mabs.ie/en/

and I got assistance from the FLAC as well which was great.

https://www.flac.ie/

gameoverdude

Revenue are good.

For Forks Sake

Revenue are extremely efficient in all aspects of their work.

Motor tax has improved immeasurably since it went online and centralised in Shannon, rather than the previous joke-shop of a system having to deal with individual county councils.

[Deleted User]

Public libraries in Ireland are excellent.

PieOhMy

Libraries deliver in their classic remit of books but also newer media and seem to aid those without Internet and computer access with their needs.

Stovepipe

Coiste an Asgard, when it existed. A tiny sub office of the Dept of Defence,with a staff of four, it ran the Asgard II very efficiently and thousands of people, me included, got to sail on her and it ran like clockwork. A dreadful pity that it was lost and not replaced.

Stovepipe

Museums. We do them well, for the most part.

Economics101

Foreign Affairs are fine for passports, or at least were until Covid put them in a tailspin

Fighting Irish

An Post are fairly nifty

James Bond Junior

Irish Water. I had issues with the main sewage line in my house, backing up and so on. A phone call into IW and the jetting truck was out literally within minutes in one case but at most within hours. No fuss, mess cleaned up and a phone call the following day to check in and see everything was done properly. A jetting truck costs hundreds in a call out alone, I never had to pay a cent even though the blockage (a drain rod left behind by a previous owner) was on my line but outside my boundary wall. I paid for a cctv to go down and once I told them what it was, within a week it was removed and I didn't have to pay a cent. Fantastic service.

Archeron

Revenue and citizens advice, the opw but as a visitor to their sites, I've never dealt with them.
I like our museums and galleries and the strange and varied places you find art, like the big steel polo mint rolling down a hill near kinnegad.

Del2005

How can you say the Department of Health is well run when we've hundreds on trolleys, struggle to recruit front-line staff, send files in taxis, have the most expensive children's hospital being built and have multiples of rolls duplicated in the HSE from the merger of the health boards with no redundancies?

whisky_galore

Stovepipe wrote: »

Museums. We do them well, for the most part.

Yes and no.
Limerick city museum not open on weekends, come on like. Huge space that the small pathetic selection of items on view are lost in.

Cork, remote for tourists and pretty poor quality and quantity of displays considering it's a major city.

hmmm

Revenue are pretty good. I've found them relatively easy to deal with over the years, and even after admitting to making a mistake (timing) they were very considerate that it was a complex area.

whiskeyman

Passport office were fantastic times I've used them.
Easy to contact on twitter also.

[Deleted User]

I've had foreign friends here comment on how good Revenue is compared to back home.

Tpcl20

Stovepipe wrote: »

Museums. We do them well, for the most part.

Having dealt with them from a commercial standpoint (supplied goods to them) they are a NIGHTMARE to deal with. But I do love going to them.

I wish there were more, and more ambitious cultural centres outside of Dublin. Galway's one is great, and the Heritage centre in Cobh.

The staff in Revenue are great but waiting on the phone line can be a nightmare at times. The advice I've gotten from them has been top notch. There was a time when an error was made with my payslip somehow and they assured me it was fine when I rang. Two years later, I ended up having to pay back €60 each paycheque for a whole year which was less than satisfactory.

bureau2009

On an individual basis we have *some* great health care staff. Likewise for *some* teachers.

Mike Murdock

Revenue have been excellent any time I have needed to use them. Very helpful, and will go the extra mile to help.

Thelonious Monk

Revenue are a dream to deal with compared to her majesty's or other tax offices I've dealt with abroad. So easy to get money back from Revnue if you move abroad or register with a new employer, it can be a bureaucratic nightmare in other countries.

gmisk

gameoverdude wrote: »

Revenue are good.

I would second revenue.
They have a terrific ICT section which has been extremely well invested in which helps.

gmisk

Archeron wrote: »

Revenue and citizens advice, the opw but as a visitor to their sites, I've never dealt with them.
I like our museums and galleries and the strange and varied places you find art, like the big steel polo mint rolling down a hill near kinnegad.

OPW...waste a lot of money....a lot

Munurty

I don't think everyone will agree but I think the RSA has made huge progress since in inception in 2006.

Road deaths have halved since 2006.
The NCT has taken hundreds of thousands of death traps off our roads.
The CVRT has made hauliers step up to much higher standards.

Haulers are now given risk rating scores based on their performance in road worthiness tests, site audits and roadside inspections. The worse their score the more they will be inspected.

From what I can see all of the above services are online and digitised also. From driving tests to NCT, CVRT tests and driving licenses.

I don't think it gets enough recognition.


Another service which I would have seen as world class was our Coast Guard helicopter service. Granted we pay Canadian CHC helicopters to operate the service but the state of the art massively equipped helicopters and their crews are such an amazing resource to have. Unfortunately the fatal crash of Rescue 116 in 2017 highlighted multiple failures, nevertheless they are constantly saving lives.

Cluedo Monopoly

Revenue are good for obvious reasons.

Education, Agriculture and OPW still back in the stone age.

EddieN75

I went to the department of agriculture in portlaoise two years ago for paperwork. They close for a 2 hour lunch. Honestly look it up

RulesOfNature

Revenue is there to take your money. To praise and cheer them on is bizarre.

They are efficient at taking your money. To fund the world’s most expensive hospital. Being built during a worldwide economic recession caused by a pandemic. Go figure.

suicide_circus

The OPW put on some magnificant floral displays in parks around the country, really top notch.

A relative of mine would have to interact with Revenue through work quite a bit and says they are nowhere near as on the ball as when dealing wigh them on a personal level.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

RulesOfNature wrote: »

They are efficient at taking your money.

Very true, but I applied for a refund of tax there a few months ago from 2018 as I only worked about 42 weeks in the year and moved abroad and would have overpaid tax. I think the refund was in my bank 3 or 4 days later. Very efficient at returning your money when it's due, in fairness.

Mantis Toboggan

CAB

tom1ie

whisky_galore wrote: »

Yes and no.
Limerick city museum not open on weekends, come on like. Huge space that the small pathetic selection of items on view are lost in.

Cork, remote for tourists and pretty poor quality and quantity of displays considering it's a major city.

Corks a major city?