Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 February 2015
89. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the organisations that have been removed from the remit of the Ombudsman; the dates on which same occurred; the reason in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8372/15]
View answerThe Ombudsman Act 2012 represented the most substantial extension in both the powers of the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman's remit in over three decades significantly enhancing the accountability of public bodies to citizens. The administrative actions of some 180 additional public bodies were brought within the Ombudsman's remit under the Act.
In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 extends the Ombudsman's remit to all public bodies which conform to the definition of public bodies as set out in Part 1 of the First Schedule to the Act, except for those which are specifically exempt in whole or in part. This achieved automatic application of the Ombudsman's Act to public bodies in place of the previous approach which required bodies to be scheduled individually by way of Government Order for inclusion on a case-by-case basis.
The Act also provides that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with the consent of the relevant Minister responsible, can add or remove excluded bodies by Order from the Schedule of Exempt Bodies. This would be subject to consultation with the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman for Children and the relevant Oireachtas Committee, in this case the Committee on Investigations, Oversight and Petitions in respect of such Orders. I can confirm that no such Orders have been made and it is not the case that any organisation which conforms to the definition of a public body in Part 1 of the First Schedule of the 2012 Act has been removed from the remit of the Ombudsman.
