Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 September 2023
182. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Finance if he will explain how, when reporting to the EU for the year 2021, the FSPO reported that 4,279 complaints were "accepted for handling" with only 130 identified as "refused" or "rejected" against its own published "Overview of Complaints 2021", which showed that only 2,676 complaints were handled through investigation or mediation. [41306/23]
View answerThe FSPO Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Annual Activity Report 2021 reported that the FSPO “received 4,658 complaints and successfully closed 5,010 complaints including 130 (2.6%) found to be ineligible”.
The FSPO’s Overview of Complaints 2021 reported that “A total of 4,658 complaints were received by the office in 2021. When 130 complaints later found to be ineligible were deducted, 4,528 complaints were received” .
Complaints were considered ineligible mainly because they were related to businesses that were not financial service providers or were made against providers that operated outside Ireland. Where appropriate, the FSPO will refer a complainant to the appropriate Alternative Dispute Resolution body in another country.
The FSPO Overview of Complaints 2021 breaks down the number of complaints closed (5,010) further into complaints closed in each department of the FSPO. 2,676 complaints were closed across Mediation and Investigation Services, with the remainder being closed in Customer Operations and Information Management, and Legal Services.
This information is also provided in the FSPO’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Annual Activity Report 2021:
“Of the 5,010 complaints closed in 2021, 2,169 (43.3%) were closed at an early stage in Customer Operations and Information Management, 1,820 (36.3%) were closed by way of mediation in Dispute Resolution Services, 856 (17.1%) were closed in Investigation Services and 165 (3.3%) were closed in Legal Services.”
