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Ombudsman's statement on SUSI

17/07/2013

The Ombudsman Amendment Act 2012 brought a number of new public bodies under the Ombudsman's remit with effect from 1 May 2013. These new bodies include all publicly funded third level education institutions i.e. the universities, Vocational Education Committees, the Central Applications Office, the State Examinations Commission and SUSI amongst others. The Ombudsman can now examine complaints in relation to the administrative actions of these new bodies which occurred on or after 1st May 2013.

Anyone can make a complaint to the Ombudsman. You can complain on your own behalf or for someone else in relation to, for example, your entitlement to a higher education grant, delays in dealing with an appeal or problems with documentation. Before contacting the Ombudsman you must have tried to solve the problem with the body concerned and exhaust any local appeals systems with that body. If you fail to resolve your problem and you feel the body concerned has not treated you fairly, you can then contact the Ombudsman. The service is free and impartial. Complaints can be made by email to ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.ie, on-line at our website www.ombudsman.gov.ie, or in writing or in person to the Ombudsman's Office at 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2. The Office can be contacted at 01 639 5600 or on our lo-call number 1890 223030. To facilitate a prompt examination of your complaint, you should accompany your complaint with any relevant documentation or correspondence.

When we receive a complaint we try to resolve it as quickly and as informally as possible, we may discuss the problem directly with the public body or examine the relevant files. In more complex cases, we may need to carry out a detailed investigation. We will keep in touch with you to let you know what we are doing with your complaint and do our best to resolve it as quickly as possible.

The Ombudsman and officials from the Office have met with SUSI to discuss our role and to set out what we expect in terms of good public administration and good complaint handling. The Office will continue to liaise with SUSI in order to promote best administrative practice.