Today, 22nd October, in Kilkenny Castle, the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) hosted its second annual workshop celebrating and showcasing examples of excellence in local government.
Galway County Council, led by Ger Scully and Morgan Matthews, showcased its housing portal, another first in Ireland, which allows the public to see detailed information about both housing supply and demand in the local authority area. The Interactive Social Housing Supply & Demand Dashboards, developed using Power BI and integrated with the iHouse system, provide a live, centralised view of housing applicant data and property availability across the county. “This transformation wasn’t just technical—it was strategic,” said Ger Scully. “We’ve created a single source of truth that empowers staff, councillors, AHBs, and the public with transparent, accessible data.” The dashboards are publicly accessible at: Social housing supply and demand | Galway County Council
NOAC, Ireland’s independent oversight body of the local government sector, welcomed attendees from across the sector to its workshop: Enhancing Customer Experience in Local Government.
The event highlighted top quality examples from projects around Ireland and included an interesting Q&A panel discussion on the projects, latest findings from a national survey of customer service in local authorities and customer service in the local government sector.
NOAC board member and event Chair, Miriam McDonald, explained:
“We created this workshop to showcase creative ideas and demonstrate how our local authorities are driving excellence and setting new standards in customer experience.
“Coming together like this provides an opportunity for the sector to share, to learn from each other and to take away ideas and apply them in their own areas.”
The workshop celebrated other diverse projects including:
- Monaghan County Council’s Personal and Community Resilience booklet. It was developed to ensure that every household, regardless of age, background, or access to technology, received vital emergency preparedness information.
- Galway City Council created a podcast called Galway City - Your Council. It introduces some of the people delivering services in the city and the valuable work they do every day.
- Limerick City and County’s Migrant Forum was established to empower migrant communities. It supports them to collaborate, network and represent migrant voices, as well as showcasing the benefits of diversity in Limerick.
- Dublin City Council developed a Generative AI Lab, the first in Ireland, to explore how these technologies can enhance the delivery of public services while ensuring ethical and responsible use.
After the presentations, panel discussions featuring the presenters and a member of the NOAC board made for an open and interesting conversation with the audience.
Attendees included local authority leads for customer services and communications, the Association of Irish Local Government, the Local Authorities Members Association, the Local Government Management Agency, the NOAC board and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The presentations from the workshop, as well as a video of the event will be available to view for free from the NOAC website or you can contact NOAC directly.