THE Department of Social Welfare has set up "customer panels" around the State to get the views of welfare recipients on the service provided.
The Minister, Mr De Rossa, yesterday said an MRBI survey found that 90 per cent of 1,000 people questioned were satisfied with the Department's services.
The Minister also published a new policy document, "Open, Fair and Caring", with the declared aim of providing a better service to the public and to the taxpayer.
The MRBI survey found only 8 per cent of respondents were dissatisfied with the Department, while 32 per cent were fairly satisfied and 58 per cent very satisfied.
Mr De Rossa said the survey showed "that the frontline staff are closely in touch with the needs of the citizen".
The customer panels will provide continuing information on how recipients view the service provided by the Department, which has about 4,000 staff and an annual budget of some £4 billion.