Council launch Ireland’s first public service centre

A GROUND-BREAKING new initiative launched his week will offer people across Cork county the chance to liaise with local authority staff in order to help fine-tune the range of council services offered to the public.

The joint initiative between Cork County Council and the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) will see the establishment of ‘Service rePublic’, Ireland’s first dedicated public service design centre.

Based in County Hall and staffed by a team of six officials, the centre will offer individuals, community groups and business a platform to engage with council officials.

The six-strong team at the centre will analyse comments made by the public and use them as a basis for further discussion to help refine and improve council services.

Speaking at the launch, County Mayor Cllr Séamus McGrath said the new service would create better services by engaging with the public and identifying matters of particular importance to them.

“It will fundamentally change how services are delivered by placing a more innovative focus on those who use the council’s services and how positive outcomes can be delivered as efficiently as possible,” said Cllr McGrath.

Cork County council chief executive Mr Tim Lucey said he believed the service could be used as a blueprint for how other local authorities and government departments engage with the public.

He said it would produce a “fundamental change” in how services are delivered and allow the council to gain a greater understanding of the needs of the people its serves by improving access to information and incorporating services to its online portal, YourCouncil.ie.

Mr Lucey said he hoped the initiative would help address pressing issues such as the rural decline and the better design of villages and towns.

“We want to identify what matters to people and identify solutions for them,” said Mr Lucey.

“I look forward to showcasing the benefits that will have been realised through the service centre at an international IT conference taking place in Cork in September,” he added.

Meanwhile, the council has also overhauled its website, www.corkcoco. ie to make it more compatible with the latest online technologies, including integration with Twitter and Facebook.

The whole design of the site has been changed to make it more user friendly including a substantial reduction in page numbers, revised terminologies and making it available in multiple languages to reflect what Mr Lucy said was the “multi-cultural nature” of its users.

“The new website also allows visitors to provide feedback, enabling its future development in line with our customers needs,” he said.