Kildare County Council criticised over email reply delays
"Not acceptable to have delays like this"
Kildare County Council has come under fire for delays in replying to email queries raised by councillors.
One councillor, Noel Connolly, said he had waited up to 131 days for one reply and 304 for another.
He told a KCC meeting on June 27 that most emails are dealt with efficiently but “some are falling through the cracks.”
Citing two separate delays of 48 days and 147 days, he said it’s not acceptable to have long delays like this.
Cllr Ide Cussen said that she is aware of a case where it took two months for a form to be posted out.
KCC official Annette Aspell said that councillors have the option of taking up the matter with a council official working in that area.
She also pointed out that in excess of 40% of queries relate to housing but the housing section does not employ 40% of the council staff. The housing department was particularly affected by Covid-19 related absences in 2021 and again in January 2022.
She added this section also manages approximately 8,000 maintenance requests per annum, and deals with approximately 700 weekly calls.
Ms Aspell also outlined in detail how email queries are dealt with by the council.
She also said that between last year and this year there had been a 37% improvement in average response times.
“While this overall picture is positive, it is acknowledged that there can be isolated instances of underperformance,” she said.