Annual Report: 90,000 complaints received by the Ombudsman in 30 years

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall has today, 28 May 2014, launched his first annual report since taking up the role as Ireland’s Ombudsman in December 2013.

2014 marks 30 years since the establishment of an Ombudsman in Ireland and the Office has received nearly 90,000 complaints against public bodies since 1984.

 Complaints received

At the launch of his annual report for 2013 Peter Tyndall said that his Office had received   3,190 complaints in 2013.  The largest number of complaints involved the Department of Social Protection (491). The Ombudsman received 203 complaints against the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and 68 against the Revenue Commissioners. Complaints in relation to local authorities amounted to 495 with 310 complaints against the HSE.

Complaints made against ‘new’ public bodies

Nearly 200 additional public bodies came under the Ombudsman’s remit in May 2013.  The Ombudsman received 150 complaints involving these ‘new’ bodies.  105 of these were in connection with the third level education sector with 69 complaints involving Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI).   

Vision for the future of the Office

On his future in the role of Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall said that there were a number of areas where he believes there is potential for development.  These include:

• the extension of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction to include public services provided by private bodies and in particular, the opportunities offered by the European Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution;
• the benefits of adopting a standardised approach to complaint handling across public services;
• the development of a single portal for public service complaints.

Significant Cases Resolved in 2013

Chapter Four of the Ombudsman’s Annual Report describes a number of the more significant cases dealt with by the Office during 2013:

Hospital apologises to family for poor treatment of woman prior to her death

A woman’s two daughters complained about the care and treatment their mother received from St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin.  Their mother was admitted to A&E in 2007 where she underwent an x-ray for chest pain and shortness of breath. A CT scan was recommended, however, this did not happen and the woman was never advised that this was required. The woman returned to hospital in early 2008 and was advised of the oversight. She died later that year of lung cancer.  The hospital apologised for the shortcomings associated with the woman’s care and the poor level of communication.  It also put in place measures to ensure the same situation did not reoccur.  (See Chapter 4, section 4.5, page 42)

State Examinations Commission provides assistance to student at short notice

The State Examinations Commission turned down a young man’s application for a ‘reader’ to sit his Leaving Certificate examinations. (A ‘reader’ is a person who assists a visually impaired student with reading the exam paper). While the information provided by the school in support of the student’s application for a ‘reader’ was not entirely satisfactory, the Ombudsman found that the State Examinations Commission should have requested the additional information required to make its decision.  The State Examinations Commission agreed and a ‘reader’ was made available for the student in time for the start of his exams. (See Chapter 4, section 4.8, page 46)

Woman incorrectly refused Invalidity Pension twice by Department of Social Protection

A woman’s Invalidity Pension claim and appeal were refused on the basis of insufficient credit contributions for 2003. On examination of the Department’s files, the Ombudsman discovered that a medical certificate submitted for a period in 2003 had not been included in the woman’s contribution records. The Department agreed to re-examine the woman’s claim.  However, this claim was also refused. The woman appealed this decision and subsequently received arrears totalling €91,496. (see Chapter 4, section 4.1, page 37)

Council imposes time limit for local residency contrary to regulations

Laois County Council refused a woman’s social housing appeal because she had not lived within the Council area for a period of six months or longer. The Ombudsman noted that the period of six months was not set out in any legislation and was not included in the Council’s Housing Allocation Scheme. Following advice provided by the Department of Environment Community and Local Government to the Ombudsman, the Council accepted that the woman had a right to be assessed for social housing and her application was backdated to the original date of application. (See Chapter 4, section 4.4, page 41)

For media queries please contact:

E mail: david.nutley@ombudsman.gov.ie

Website: www.ombudsman.gov.ie

Address: Office of the Ombudsman, 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2

Twitter: @officeombudsman

Note to Editors: Peter Tyndall succeeded Emily O’Reilly as Ombudsman on 2 December 2013.  Originally from Dublin, Mr Tyndall previously served as Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.  He was also Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales, Head of Education and Culture for the Welsh Local Government Association and worked in a variety of senior positions in housing and social care, most notably in developing housing and support services for people with learning disabilities.