NINE OUT of 10 public offices are closed on Saturdays, many open late in the morning and close in the early evening, a quarter still close for lunch, and less than half are open to the public for the standard working week of 39 hours, according to a survey conducted by Fine Gael.
The survey shows that: less than half (48 per cent) of offices are open for a standard 39-hour week; 24 per cent still close for lunch; only 9 per cent open on Saturdays; and only 4 per cent are open after 6pm on any night of the week.
According to the survey, public access to government services by telephone is not much better: one in five phone lines close down for lunch; only 19 per cent are still open after 5.30pm; and only 4 per cent of lines open on a Saturday.
The main opposition party is proposing a new policy called Service First, providing for: longer office opening hours - an end to lunchtime closures and at least one late opening per week; better response to telephone queries - an end to the "voicemail culture"; expanding online e-government to nine new areas including planning applications, student grants, the electoral register and driving licence applications; the designation of January 1st, 2011, as "E-Day" after which many government services will be available on an "online only" basis to business customers; rewriting the Government Service Directory to make it "genuinely consumer friendly".
According to the survey report: "Out of 100 public offices surveyed by Fine Gael only three open on Saturday and only three are open after 6pm. An even larger number do not even meet normal office opening hours. For example, the Public Planning Counters in all four Dublin local authorities close by 4.30pm.
"In Fingal and Meath they close at 3.30pm. Seven other offices do not open until 10am including Enfo (information office of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government), the Registry of Deeds, the Property Registration Authority, the regional offices of the Department of Education and the Motor Tax Office in Co Leitrim."
Fine Gael Enterprise spokesman Dr Leo Varadkar said in a statement: "Why should someone have to take time off work in order to collect a parcel, apply for a passport or fill out a planning application? The opening hours of many public-sector offices which deal with queries from members of the public no longer reflect the time-pressures that modern workers face during the working week.
"Government office opening hours seem to belong to a different age and have not kept pace with modern Ireland."
He continued: "It does not have to be this way. I am calling on the Government to use the forthcoming pay talks to push for public-sector reform, including a move to consumer-friendly opening hours and a better response to telephone queries.
"They should set about a major expansion of online services to save taxpayers' money and reduce costs for the business sector."