Introduction
The Ombudsman's Office has been in existence now for 16 years and in that time it has evolved in terms of the type of complaint received, how it approaches its work and also in terms of the principles and values which inform its work. Any institution which does not change with time is in danger of stagnating. While the fundamentals of the Office remain fixed, there is plenty of scope for new thinking and for new approaches to meeting the essential Ombudsman task. My Office learns from its own experience but is also influenced by developments in the public service generally, in the wider Irish society and also by contacts with Ombudsman Offices internationally.
In Chapter Two of this Annual Report I try to convey the range of approaches, working methods, and the forms of remedy or redress sought, which characterise the Ombudsman's Office at present. I understand the Oireachtas will, in the near future, be considering the first substantive amendment of the Ombudsman Act since its enactment in 1980. This will, it is proposed, extend my jurisdiction to public voluntary hospitals, non-commercial state bodies and some other publicly funded bodies. Accordingly, I hope members of the Dáil and Seanad will find this Report helpful in considering legislative proposals for my Office.
A Changing Public Service
The extent of the changes in Irish society since 1984, when my Office began operations, is well documented. The concomitant changes in the Irish public service may be less well understood but are none the less significant. The environment in which the public service operates is now one of unprecedented economic growth, budget surpluses, very significant reductions in unemployment and massive public infrastructural development. Internally, the Irish public service continues with the implementation of the Government's modernisation programme which includes the development of new styles of management, an emphasis on openness and accountability as well as the delivery of public services in a client-friendly manner. The Freedom of Information Act, in relation to which I have a direct interest in my capacity as Information Commissioner, is undoubtedly having a real influence on the style of public administration in Ireland - though inevitably some public bodies are more readily influenced by that Act than are others!
Economic success creates its own problems and the public service is now facing challenges on a scale which would have been unthinkable ten years ago. These include issues of traffic management, planning conflicts, shortages in public housing, growing expectations in relation to public healthcare and, not least, the growing number of those seeking asylum in Ireland. I expect that many of these areas will increasingly become the subject of complaint to my Office. Indeed, this is already evident in the case of complaints relating to planning enforcement and planning administration which have increased considerably in recent years - 165 such complaints were received in 1999. As a result, in 1999 for the first time, complaints against the local authorities exceeded those against the Department of Social, Community & Family Affairs (see Chapter Five for details).
Fundamental Functions
However, the fundamental functions of the Ombudsman remain intact. These may be summarised as:
- - protecting the rights of individuals in their dealings with those entrusted with the exercise of public power;
- - providing redress where it is found that these rights have been infringed;
- - promoting high standards of public administration generally;
- - acting independently in support of Parliamentary control of the Executive in the interests of fair and sound administration.
I regard this latter function, acting in support of the Dáil and Seanad, as extremely important. In addition to my Annual Reports, I hope to be able to continue the practice of submitting occasional reports to the Oireachtas on specific issues or areas of public administration. I began this practice in 1999 with the publication of the Lost Pension Arrears report (which looked at how the Department of Social, Community & Family Affairs dealt over the years with late applications for contributory pensions). Within the next month or so, I hope to publish a report on the role of the Department of Health & Children, and of the health boards, in relation to nursing home care for the elderly. I also hope to publish individual investigation reports in full where the subject matter so warrants. I have already done this in the case of investigations involving the Department of Social, Community & Family Affairs and the Department of Education and Science. I will shortly be publishing a report, in the case of all the local authorities, in relation to overpayments on housing loans retained by the authorities.
My capacity to act in support of Parliamentary control of the Executive is restricted by the fact that significant areas of operation of the Executive are specifically excluded from my jurisdiction by the 1980 Act. In my Report for 1998 I drew attention to these omissions and pointed out that these are areas of administration which are within the remit of the typical national Ombudsman throughout Europe. The excluded areas include the administration of the prison service (and of people in custody generally) and the administration of the law in relation to refugees, asylum seekers, citizenship and naturalisation. This means that those adversely affected by decisions in these areas - taken by the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform or by other responsible bodies or appeal mechanisms - may not complain to me if they consider that the decisions were taken in a way which was improper, unfair or otherwise unsound. In such cases, the only forum in which to seek redress is the courts.
In principle, as well as in practice in most European countries, the Ombudsman is available to everybody and, indeed, acts as a guarantor of fair treatment for prisoners and their families and for non-nationals living in that country. The Irish public would seem to be overwhelmingly supportive of measures designed to ensure fairness for all within our society. An Irish Times/MRBI Poll, conducted in January 2000, found that 97% of respondents believed the aim of making Ireland a fair place to live for all sections of the community was either very or quite important. Removing the exclusions, mentioned above, from the Ombudsman Act would be a positive step in helping to ensure that level of fairness which the public clearly supports.
The Ombudsman does not make binding decisions, but does have the powers to conduct in-depth and relatively informal investigations leading on to recommendations. These investigations, and the cumulative experience in a particular area which they provide, enable the Ombudsman to provide the Oireachtas with views and conclusions which are informed and independent. In considering whatever legislative proposals for my Office are put before the Oireachtas, serious consideration might perhaps be given to extending the Ombudsman's jurisdiction to the full range of public administration as is the norm throughout Europe.
Use of the Term 'Ombudsman'
For some years now there has been concern among Ombudsmen across the world at the misuse of the term Ombudsman and the resulting confusion among the public at large. The Office of the Ombudsman is a mechanism for ensuring that public bodies are accountable to parliament for fair and sound administration. Increasingly, however, the term is being applied incorrectly to a huge variety of dispute resolution mechanisms. In the USA in particular the term is being applied to company appointed mediators or facilitators dealing with internal staff problems or sometimes with customer complaints.
The Board of Directors of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), which represents Ombudsmen world-wide, recently passed a resolution affirming that the term Ombudsman should only be used when the office meets specified criteria including:
- - constitutional or statutory underpinning to guarantee its independence of any public authority within its jurisdiction;
- - adequate powers to investigate the actions of public bodies and to propose remedies or redress where maladministration, violation of rights or unfairness is found.
In previous reports I have drawn attention to the statutory protection given to the term Ombudsman in other countries.
This Report
This Report covers my fifth full year, which is also the last full year, of my term as Ombudsman. Chapter Two illustrates the variety of roles and methods of operation of the Office, as well as the range of redress or remedies attained in appropriate cases. Chapter Three presents accounts of a range of complaints dealt with during 1999; it also identifies some issues of general significance as well as attempting to highlight some principles of good administration. Finally, Chapters Four and Five set out details of the work of the Office during 1999 including statistical data and analysis of cases handled.
I wish to express my gratitude to the staff of the Office, to my Director, Pat Whelan, and to Patricia Doyle, Fintan Butler and John Doyle for their work in the preparation of this Annual Report.
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