Post
by Brigid from Ireland » Fri Aug 30, 2013 10:35 pm
You will probably need to wait until the passport is returned to you. If the EU citizen has a job, even a poorly paid part time job, this is not a problem. It is a bigger issue if the EU citizen is still looking for work.
In future, if an official tells you verbally that he is refusing your request, you smile politely, take note of the time and his name if you can get it easily and go home to write an e-mail appealing that decision. You e-mail the Department and you cc the e-mail to the Minister of State for the relevant department eg Minister of Health. Their e-mail addresses are in the phone book or online.
You make sure to use both the words 'complain' and 'appeal' in your e-mail. This means that the matter is counted as a complaint against the Department and also as an appeal. The number of complaints is measured statistacally so it matters to the office, because if there are too many complaints a senior manager must investigate to see if there is a pattern of poor service there. But you must use the words 'complain' and 'appeal' otherwise it is not counted.
You do not engage in long verbal discussion or you will be accused of being agressive, you simply leave the office with a smile and write your letter of complaint and appeal. There is video in most state offices so you must make sure your body language is polite and not agressive. So you smile politely and leave to write your e-mail.
Example:
I attended X office at Y location on date and spoke to Mr AB (or give a polite factual description if you do not have a name). He verbally refused to accept my application for Z as he said I needed to provide W document. I wish to appeal this decision as I do not think that document W is required. I wish to complain because the decision was given verbally and I think that he should have taken my application papers and refused my application in writing, stating clearly the reason for his refusal, so that it would be easier for me to appeal the decision. I would appreciate it if you could deal with this issue urgently as it is causing great stress for me. I wish to request under Freedom of Information and Data Protection laws all personal data you hold regarding me. This includes any video taken in X office on Y date.
In one case the above e-mail caused such consternation in the office who received it that they phoned the person who complained and said they would send an official to her home address to take the application if she wished, as it had been refused in error, and they would process it with speed and return it to her the following day. It was not a pps number issue, but it did show how fast they could work when motivated. The request for video gets you a photo of you in the office and means they will be forced to identify the officer who refused you request, as he will also be on the video. You make the request on the same day, because the video is destroyed after a period of time, perhaps a week. This type of e-mail tends to have a motivating effect on senior managers in state offices.
It also makes you unpopular, so don't do it if the matter is one in respect of which the state official may exercise judgement. But do it with freedom if it is a matter of law and you have the law on your side.
Anecdotally there is a big problem with state officials refusing to take the papers for an application in respect of various state services and issuing a verbal refusal. It is very difficult to appeal these later as there is no paperwork, so a verbal refusal should be followed on the same day with a written e-mail of complaint and appeal, as outlined above. That creates the necessary paperwork.
BL
