It is assumed the Deputy is referring to the report by the Ombudsman of the investigation of complaints regarding the payment of arrears of contributory pensions, which was published last week.
This report concerns the investigation of three separate complaints which were made against the refusal by the Department to pay full arrears of pension to the complainants, who, for varying reasons, were late in making their claims. The Department has accepted the Ombudsman's recommendations to pay arrears of pension in all three cases.
In two of the cases, the persons concerned had failed to claim old age contributory pension in time, but were in receipt of other pensions from the Department. Their other pension claims have now been treated as claims for old age contributory pension and arrears have been paid on that basis.
The late claim in the third case was allegedly due to incorrect advice being given by the Department. The Ombudsman, in his formal findings in this case, concluded that on the balance of probabilities the person in question did call to the Department on two separate occasions, as he contended, and that the officials he met failed to advise him adequately in relation to his pension entitlement. The Ombudsman also found that the person concerned did himself, to some extent, contribute to this failure to get adequate advice and that his failure to claim a pension in time may be attributed both to his general lack of knowledge in relation to social insurance and to the failure of the Department adequately to advise him. The Ombudsman concluded that the Department had discretion under existing arrangements to provide appropriate redress in his case.
In the light of the Ombudsman's recommendation, the Department decided to pay pension arrears and compensation for the delay for the period in question.