28/06/2005

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

National and Local Service Indicators

Local Indicators 2004
National Indicators 2004

National Indicators

In January 2004, the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government (DoEHLG) published "Delivering Value for People - Service Indicators in Local Authorities" which sets out a list of 42 National Service Indicators with over 150 sub-headings covering a wide range of local government services under the following categories:

• Arts & Cultural Services
• Community Participation & Co-operation
• Corporate Issues
• Environmental Services (Water / Fire Service / Waste Management / Litter)
• Housing
• Library Services
• Motor Taxation
• Planning & Building Control
• Revenue Collection
• Roads

The methodology for compilation of the returns are strictly defined by the DoEHLG as outlined in this publication and subsequent advice notes. All local authorities have been required to complete a formal return of their performance under these headings as at 31/12/04.

An Independent Assessment Panel (IAP) was appointed by Minister Dick Roche consisting of :

• Prof. Philip Bourke (Chair), Dean of Smurfit Business School in UCD
• Ms. Carmel Foley, Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs
• Mr. Arthur Coldrick, Management Consultant and Chairman of the PVG ( Performance Verification Group ) under Sustaining Progress.

On 16th / 17th May 2005, this group undertook verification visits to three local authorities including South Dublin County to test consistency and accuracy of returns in order to compile a report on their findings to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The group left with a very positive impression of their visit to Tallaght and expressed themselves satisfied with the manner in which the Council had handled the process and with the Council’s data capture and reporting systems in general.

Concerns were raised by Council staff with the manner in which Waste Management Indicators E7 & E8 (extract from our return is set out below) were required to be produced.

*These percentages relate only to household waste collected By SDCC. They exclude all household waste brought by Householders to bring centres, Civic Amenity Centres, Green waste centres etc. . The overall % of household waste recycled in South Dublin County is 25.61% for 2004.

The concern which was raised was that no one figure available in the Waste Management Indicators gives the overall percentage of household waste recycled by all means i.e. door to door collections, bring centres, Civic Amenity Centres, central green waste facilities etc. It was felt that this overall figure was a crucial one to measure and make known through this process. Although tonnages of recycled materials are given under Indicator E9 (Recycling Facilities), these figures cannot be amalgamated with the % figures in E7 above to give an overall household waste recycling figure which for South Dublin County at 31/12/04 was 25.61%.

A full list of our National Indicator returns under all headings is attached to this Press Release.

The Local Government Management Services Board (LGMSB) are scheduled to submit a full report of the returns by all local authorities and the Independent Assessment Panel's findings to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government by the end of June 2005. The publication of overall figures by the DoEHLG is expected in early / mid July 2005.

At present, the Council is developing further Local Indicators which

• will give a fuller picture of our activities
• will be defined by SDCC
• will put the National Indicators into local context
• will provide a more balanced picture of our performance
• will be refined and amended on an ongoing basis
• will form the basis for future target setting
• will cover aspects of value, time and quality

A list of the Councils initial range of Local Indicators is attached to this Press Release. These are a work in progress and will be refined and added to in the coming months.

The value of the information provided by service indicators is in the signals they provide about relative performance or trends in performance. They are intended to raise questions and to provoke a response, rather than of themselves provide answers. The collection of data on indicators is the start of a process, not the end. They should lead to a series of questions, most of them starting with ‘Why?’ The Local Government Management Services Board will have a monitoring role to identify and promote examples of best practice in the Local Government Sector.

South Dublin County Council intends in the future to publicise details of our national & local indicators in local and national media , in our Annual Report & on the Councils website http://www.southdublin.ie/.

Service Indicators are one element of an Integrated Performance Management Strategy incorporating:

Strategic Planning : The adoption of the Corporate Plan 2004 - 2009 – “Connecting with Communities” by the elected members sets out their high level strategic priorities to guide the actions of the Council over it’s elected five- year term. In other words it sets out the Policy Platform for SDCC.

Action Planning : Annual Departmental Operational Plans and Annual Team Plans are prepared within each Department of the Council. They flow from the Corporate Plan and set out the detailed actions necessary for Management to achieve the objectives of the elected members as set out in the Corporate Plan.

Performance Management Development System : Defined as: The way an organisation plans, implements & develops what needs to be done to at least meet, if not exceed, the expectations of its customers/community while making sure that the best use is made of resources & the full potential of every employee is realized

• Key element in Sustaining Progress
• Clearly identify roles, responsibilities and the range of competencies that staff need to fulfil their role.
• Develop knowledge / skills / competencies of staff
• Will apply to employees at all levels
• All staff can actively participate in planning & delivering of services
• This system is being piloted at present and will be rolled out Council-wide in 2006

This is the process of measuring or assessing risk and of developing strategies to manage the risk. In March 2004 the Department of Finance produced a document entitled Risk Management Guidance for Government Departments and Offices. Four main categories of risk were identified :

• Operational Risks (relating to the procedures/technologies etc. employed to achieve particular objectives).
• Strategic Risks (risks that may be external to the organisation such as the economic climate, including factors such as interest rates, exchange rates and inflation).
• Financial Risks (relating to the procedures/systems/accounting records in place to ensure that the organisation is not exposed to avoidable financial risks, including risks to assets).
• Reputation Risks (involving risks to the public reputation of the organisation and their effects).

All of the above initiatives have at their core :

• Setting Challenging Standards of Service Delivery
• Strong Focus on the Needs of the Customer
• Achieving Improved Service Levels
• Better Value for Money
• Making Best Use of Available Resources

“Walking the Walk”

South Dublin County Council is committed as an organisation to constant improvement in delivery of our service, in all of its diverse forms, to the public whom we serve.

One recent innovation in this regard is our Customer Care Centre in County Hall which is coming up to the first anniversary of its opening on 1st July next. This was the first centre of its kind to be opened by a local authority in Ireland and seeks to deal comprehensively with the customer at first point of contact. Over 80% of the 20,000 personal callers to the centre in this first year were successfully dealt with in this way.

For those callers for whom referral to another member of staff is necessary, we have introduced an electronic tracking system to manage these enquiries from start to finish. In the coming year, through the introduction of new technology, we intend to extend this level of service to all callers.

A further innovation introduced by South Dublin County Council ahead of the rest of Irish local authorities is our Electronic Planning File Retrieval System. This enables members of the public and architects / agents to examine planning application documentation on-line on a 24 hour / 7 day basis cutting out the necessity in many cases for inconvenient visits to our offices.

All Council meetings are now held on-line with elected members accessing documentation electronically from their dedicated MembersNet website. This facility is now being rolled out to the Press through their own PressNet website which will be available to all registered journalists in the Autumn. This innovation , again unique to South Dublin County Council, will greatly facilitate access to information to report on Council affairs to the benefit of all concerned.

The Council is supporting the community and commercial sector through participation in the ‘MoBhaile’ project, www.southdublin.ie/mobaile. This is a community website which will assist in connecting communities across the county. It provides a vehicle to enhance spatial information through the merging of Council, community, leisure and commercial information. At present it accommodates 31 community / business websites and the target by the end of 2005 is in excess of 200.

South Dublin County Council have won a variety of Awards in recent months such as:

• Excellence Through People award from FÁS, which recognises South Dublin County Council's achievements in staff training and development and is Ireland's national standard for human resource development
• Tallaght People of the Year Award for Arts and Culture (including music and drama) awarded to South Dublin Libraries.
• Economic Development Award at the first ever Chambers of Commerce in Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards which were presented to local authorities all over Ireland for initiatives such as innovative waste management programmes, web portals, arts projects in disadvantaged areas and enhanced tourism facilities.
• In the O2 Ability Awards SDCC won an award for recruitment & selection of people with a disability and received a quality mark in the leadership and physical access categories.
• Irish Independent – Best Companies to work for – 2005 On February 23rd, South Dublin County Council was recognised as one of the top 50 companies to work for in Ireland. This award was granted following a detailed assessment by the “Great Place to Work Institute Ireland”. The study identifies and recognises the finest employers and consequently the most satisfied workforces in Ireland.

In short we don’t only “talk the talk” ! By any standards and not only by comparison to other local authorities, we also “walk the walk” !