asked the Minister for Finance if, in view of the fact that a quarter of the investigative staff in the Office of the Ombudsman have been lost due to a cut of £100,000 between the Revised Estimates for Public Services 1987 and the Estimates published in January 1987 he will ensure that full co-operation is extended to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Written Answers. - Staff Reduction in Office of the Ombudsman.
11.
As I stated in my budget speech, the cost of the public service still represents too great a burden on the Exchequer. I also mentioned that the steps which we have taken to curb public service pay increases must be matched by measures to secure a reduction in the numbers employed in the public service. The reduction in the Ombudsman Estimate must be considered in that light.
I do not accept that the restrictions which have been imposed on the Estimate for the Ombudsman's Office should have any significant effect on the discharge of the office's functions. I would call the Deputy's attention to the fact that after an initial, significant, increase in the volume of complaints received by the Ombudsman in 1985 as compared with 1984, the number of complaints received in 1986 — the last full year for which details are available — shows no appreciable increase over 1985.
I would envisage that by its very nature the work of the Ombudsman which appears to have peaked will probably decrease in the future. At various points in his latest report, the Ombudsman expresses satisfaction at the progress which is being made in a number of key areas which had generated a significant volume of the complaints received by his office. Inevitably, the remedying of these problems should result in a decrease in the volume of work being handled by the office.