I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee. I am pleased, together with my colleagues David Tang and Barry Quirke, to have the opportunity to present the Ombudsman annual reports for 2022 and 2023. I took up my role as Ombudsman early in 2022, so these two reports reflect the work and the achievements of my team during my first two years in office. I am very proud of how the team has performed, with energy and enthusiasm and with the central objective of helping the public firmly at our core.
While investigating complaints about unsatisfactory public services and improving the quality of public services is at the core of what we do, I am anxious to recognise good public service and help to ensure good practices and processes are acknowledged and maintained. I therefore take this opportunity to acknowledge the excellent work that is being done daily across our public services in what are undoubtedly challenging times for our country on many fronts. It is a fact that when the world around us is under increased uncertainty and pressure, we rely on our public services to support those who are vulnerable or suffering most. In particular, issues related to housing, healthcare and immigration have been to the fore during the years under review. Despite these challenges, we continue to drive fairness, transparency and accountability in the delivery of public services.
To ensure public bodies respect the dignity and worth of every individual interacting with them, we developed a guide for staff of the Office of the Ombudsman in 2023 to assist in ensuring public bodies and our office examine complaints through a human rights lens.
We have embarked on an engaging and visible outreach programme with the aim of ensuring people know we are here and how to contact us when they need our service. This includes engagement through national and local media, the public participation networks, citizens information centres and community, voluntary and social inclusion groups throughout the country. We find there is no substitute for meeting people and hearing their stories first hand. It is the best way for us to understand the impact poor services can have on a person’s life. It serves as a consistent reminder to me of how important the work of this office is. An enhanced awareness of the office and the service we provide has contributed to what continues to be a rise in complaints and inquiries each year.
In 2022, my office received a record number of complaints, 4,791, representing an increase of 19.6% on the previous year.
We also responded to over 6,700 inquiries, meaning the Office had approximately 11,500 engagements with the public that year. That is 11,500 attempts to assist people. 2023 was another busy year for the office. We received 4,465 complaints and 8,171 inquiries. That represents more than 12,500 engagements with the public in a single year, an increase of more than a thousand on the year before. We have continued to receive and process an increased number of complaints and inquiries so far this year.
The category of complaints that we received were largely consistent over 2022 and 2023. Local authorities accounted for the second highest proportion of complaints received in 2022 and the highest in 2023. These complaints concerned various topics, including housing, planning and traffic complaints. The different challenges faced by each local authority requires a level of independence and discretion in the delivery of their services. However, discretion can lead to inconsistency. We have witnessed some of that inconsistency in how different local authorities deliver their services and deal with complaints. In response to this, we have developed a model complaint handling procedure for use by local authorities. This procedure will soon be shared by local authorities and the public. I expect local authorities to implement the new procedure in order to better deal with complaints. I look forward to seeing it make real improvements in encouraging a more consistent and best practice-based approach that will result in improved service delivery and better handling of complaints.
Housing made up approximately 60% of all local authority complaints in both 2022 and 2023. It is clear that housing was and continues to be the biggest challenge facing our country. In response to this, in 2022 I held a workshop with NGOs working in the field of housing and homelessness. We have since put in place a housing sector team that is focused on responding to these housing cases. I also initiated a systemic investigation into the administrative processes around the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme. With this investigation complete, we are in the process of finalising the report for publication later this year. It is my hope that the implementation of the resulting recommendations will make real improvements in what has become a central mechanism for the Government in meeting the housing needs of thousands of people.
The sector that received the second highest number of complaints, 1,175 in 2023, was Government Departments and offices. The sector that had the third highest complaints in both 2022 and 2023 were health and social services, with 839 complaints received in 2023. These figures include complaints about the HSE, public hospitals and Tusla. People can feel vulnerable when engaging with health services and, therefore, it is important that such engagements are as good as can possibly be expected. However, such are the demands on our heath service, experiences can vary. This has been the experience of our office in recent years. In April 2023 we completed an investigation that culminated in the publication of In Sickness and in Debt. This was an investigation into the administration by the HSE of schemes that fund necessary medical treatment in the EU, EEA or the UK. The investigation was prompted by several complaints we received from patients who faced difficulty navigating the three different treatment abroad schemes. I was clear in my report that I welcome the fact that such schemes are in place and that they mainly work well. I was struck by the impact on the physical, mental and financial well-being that the process had on the complainants for whom schemes did not operate as I believed they should have.
The published report contained 21 recommendations that focused on improving the administration of the schemes, both moving forward and in the investigation of existing complaints. The co-operation of the HSE with this report is to be commended. It is a clear demonstration of how my office and public bodies can work together to improve services. The HSE accepted all the recommendations relating to it. As implementation progressed, more than 200 cases were identified for review and we have seen patients who were previously denied access to the schemes receive reimbursements. The implementation of the recommendations has also delivered positive change to the administration of all three schemes, ensuring that patients are now at the centre of all decisions.
My predecessors had undertaken many important investigations that culminated in various reports and recommendations. Part of my role as custodian of this office is to ensure that such good work is not forgotten and to follow up on progress on the implementation of those reports. Wasted Lives was a report published by this office in May 2021 on foot of a systemic investigation into the appropriateness of placement of people aged under 65 in private and public nursing homes. The report made a series of findings and recommendations covering a wide range of issues. These recommendations were accepted by the HSE. However, progress on the implementation of the recommendations has been disappointing. Broader issues such as the availability of suitable housing, suitable supports and access to healthcare professionals in the community have presented challenges. Recent industrial action in the HSE has disrupted the reporting of progress updates to my office. With those matters now resolved, it is my firm intention to push for further progress. I will publish a progress report later this year.
Grounded was a report published in 2021, which set out the investigations undertaken by the office since 2011 into the lack of access to transport for people with disabilities. In my 2022 annual report, I set out that leadership was required in this area and the time for further reports from various Departments had passed. I described the way in which people with disabilities continue to be denied access to personal transport supports as nothing short of shameful. Since then I have met with officials several times from the Department of An Taoiseach who sought to progress the matter. The Department has stated that its objective is to take an holistic view of all relevant transport schemes. It convened a senior officials group to examine the issues raised. It states that the national disability strategy that is being developed will also assist progress on these matters. Prior to publication of my 2023 annual report, I sought an update from the Department and this update is published on our website www.ombudsman.ie. While I welcome the Department of An Taoiseach’s involvement and see merit in this more centralised approach, I maintain that the continued absence of a lead Department and lack of action is unacceptable.
I note that in recent research by the ESRI, 56% of people say housing is one of the two most important issues facing Ireland. While our work on housing complaints and issues and our upcoming HAP report will hopefully contribute to improvements in this challenging sector, more still needs to be done. We are constantly listening, observing and consulting to establish where our focus should be and where we can make the greatest impact in the coming years. I also note that in the same ESRI research there was a rise in the importance of migration to respondents in Ireland, measured by the proportion of people who say immigration is one of the top two most important issues facing Ireland increasing from 3% in July 2022 to 14% in November 2023. There is, however, another important point to note from the ESRI research. In November 2023, Ireland ranked fourth most supportive of immigration in the 27 EU countries and the UK. At a time our economy and public services, such as health, are heavily dependent on migrants and while people are fleeing war, persecution, genocide and starvation, it is important that our public services treat all people living here fairly. They should be treated with respect and dignity. Our services should aim to meet the basic human requirements of people and should not contribute to the division that some people seek to sow.
I have sought to engage on this topic in a collaborative manner. I have engaged with senior officials of departments, with relevant bodies under the aegis of those Departments, NGOs, migrants and with people seeking protection, together with those helping to meet their needs. I have visited the sites at Mount Street, City West, Crooksling, Gormanston, Mosney and the Grand Canal. I have heard the stories first hand. I acknowledge the challenges faced by our public services in this area and I commend the tireless work being done in the face of these challenges. I have witnessed the commitment and humanity of the people working to deliver services, both staff and volunteers. I have questions, however, about some of the decisions and actions and I propose to bring more scrutiny to the actions being taken in this area.
It is the 40th anniversary of my office this year and we have several initiatives and events to mark this important milestone. I will take great pleasure in updating the committee on those events at a future date. We can rightly be proud of the achievements of the office over the past 40 years. The Ombudsman team has developed a strong and insightful knowledge and empathetic approach to dealing with complainants and complaints in what can be delicate and emotive circumstances. I thank them for their dedication and commitment. While we celebrate the achievements of the past, our focus remains firmly on the future. We will continue to work to uphold our commitment to ensuring better administration and delivery of public services. I thank the Cathaoirleach and members for this opportunity and we are happy to take any questions the committee may have.
