Ombudsman (Ireland)

The Office of the Ombudsman in Ireland was set up under the terms of the Ombudsman Act 1980,[1] as amended by the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012.[2] The current Ombudsman is Peter Tyndall.

Functions

The Ombudsman is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Ombudsman deals with complaints against providers of public services including Departments of State, local authorities, the HSE, publicly funded third-level education bodies, nursing homes and direct provision accommodation centres.[3]

The Ombudmsman is ex-officio a member of three important statutory oversight bodies: the Commission for Public Service Appointments,[4] the Referendum Commission[5] and the Standards in Public Office Commission.[6]

Extension of remit, 2012

The Ombudsman's remit was greatly extended by The Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 which brought approximately 200 additional public bodies under the scrutiny of the Ombudsman.[7] The Act also designated the Ombudsman as Director (Chief Executive) of the Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments. The Act was the first in a series of public service reform measures by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the other measures being the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, the Freedom of Information Act 2014, the Registration of Lobbyists Act 2015 and the Public Sector Standards Bill 2015.

Proposal for constitutional status

In the 2012 Annual Report, the then Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly argued strongly for constitutional status to be conferred on the Office of the Ombudsman, with a constitutional guarantee of independence from the Government, similar to that enjoyed by the Comptroller and Auditor General.[8] This appeal was reiterated by her successor, Peter Tyndall.[9]

List of ombudsmen
Name Term
Michael Mills 1984–1994
Kevin Murphy 1994–2003
Emily O'Reilly 2003–2013
Peter Tyndall 2013–present

Other ombudsmen

There are other ombudsmen established in Ireland relating to particular sectors:

  • The first Pensions Ombudsman, Paul Kenny, was appointed in 2003.
  • Emily Logan became Ireland's first Ombudsman for Children in March 2004.
  • The Financial Services Ombudsman incorporated the older offices of the Insurance Ombudsman and Ombudsman for Credit Institutions in 2005.[10]
  • Also established in 2005 was the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, the first holder being Paulyn Marrinan Quinn, formerly the founding Insurance Ombudsman.
  • An Act of 2005 created a three-person tribunal, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, to investigate complaints about the country's police force.
  • Legislation has been enacted to establish a Legal Services Ombudsman.

All these offices are statutory and their holders are public servants.

  • A (non-statutory) Press Ombudsman began work in January 2008

The Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 provided for the statutory protection of the title of Ombudsman.

References
  1. Ombudsman Act 1980
  2. Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012
  3. Irish Ombudsman website
  4. "Members of the Commission". Commission for Public Service Appointments. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  5. "About the Referendum Commission". Referendum Commission. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  6. "Members of the Commission". Standards in Public Office Commission. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  7. "Annual Report 2013, Office of the Ombudsman". Office of the Ombudsman. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  8. "Annual Report 2012, Office of the Ombudsman". Office of the Ombudsman. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  9. "Annual Report 2013, Office of the Ombudsman". Office of the Ombudsman. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  10. Irish financial ombudsman website
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