asked the Taoiseach if the Government have given further consideration to the possibility of creating an office of Ombudsman on the Scandinavian model; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Appointment of Ombudsman.
1.
I have nothing to add to the reply given by my predecessor to a similar question on 22nd February, 1966.
Would the Minister not agree that there is great need for an Ombudsman in this country at the moment, in view of the number of cases of injustice which Deputies and others cannot have rectified?
This matter has been considered. There are enough people who are able to act on behalf of aggrieved members of the community, to present their cases to the appropriate Government Department or local authority and have them investigated. I have no reason to suppose that there is a lack of impartiality or that a grievous hurt occasioned to people cannot be remedied in this way. Deputies themselves play a very useful part in smoothing operations of the Civil Service, eliminating unnecessary delays and in correcting the inevitable inefficiency that may occur and, sometimes, the mistakes of judgment by civil servants that may occur in the course of their duties. I would further remark that I think the standard of the Civil Service in this country in respect of what it does to the community is second to none in any country which I know.
Might I state that there is a particular case in question at the present time with which a Deputy is not able to deal and which demands the services of such a person as an Ombudsman? When a decision is made by a Department, that is final. It becomes a case of having to have an Ombudsman to solve it.
I have nothing further to add.