Contact Information

The Office of the Ombudsman is open between 9.15 and 5.30 Monday to Thursday and 9.15 to 5.15 on Friday.

18 Lr. Leeson Street, Dublin 2.

Tel: +353-1-639 5600

Lo-call: 1890 223030

Fax: (01) 639 5674 Email: ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.ie

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Press Releases

Press Releases

18.08.2008 Nursing Home Charges

Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly spotlights HSE reduction in nursing home charges - €24 weekly charge waiver decision welcomed.

09.07.2008 Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2007

The Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has today published her Annual Report for 2007. This report covers her fourth full year in office since taking up duty as Ombudsman on 1 June 2003. The Ombudsman reports annually to the Oireachtas and the general public on the work of the Office, on developments relating to public administration generally and cases of particular interest which she has dealt with during the year.

Emily O'Reilly received a total of 2,578 valid complaints during 2007 compared to 2,245 complaints in 2006, which was an increase of 14.8% on intake over the previous year. This was the highest annual intake of valid complaints since 1999. In addition to actual complaints, Ombudsman staff also dealt with enquiries from members of the public. Between valid and invalid complaints and enquiries, just under 13,000 people contacted the Ombudsman's Office during 2007.

Adding on complaints carried forward from 2006, which totalled 896, the Office had 3,474 valid complaints on hands for 2007.

Of the 2,520 complaints concluded in 2007: 480 (19%) were resolved, in whole or in part; and in 622 (25%) cases assistance was provided. In effect, 44% of complainants were better off as a result of having contacted the Ombudsman. As regards the distribution by sector of valid complaints received, 41.4% related to civil service departments and offices, 33.4% involved local authorities, 22.2% related to the Health Service Executive, and 3.0% to An Post.

The full text of the Annual Report is available at www.ombudsman.ie

05.06.2008 Investigation Report on Domiciliary Care Allowance *

Press Release - Report of Investigation by the Ombudsman on Domiciliary Care Allowance *

10.01.2008 Ombudsman Publishes Case Reports

Details of three cases recently resolved by the Ombudsman

08.10.2007 A report by the Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, on complaints received against the General Register Office (GRO) over recent years.

A Report of the Ombudsman's experience of dealing with complaints against the General Register Office and some suggestions for improvement.

19.09.2007 Ombudsman publishes Case Reports

Details of three sample cases successfully resolved by the Ombudsman

20.06.2007 Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2006

The Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has today published her Annual Report for 2006. This report covers her third full year in office since taking up duty as Ombudsman on 1 June 2003. The Ombudsman reports annually to the Oireachtas and the general public on the work of the Office and on issues and cases of interest arising during the year. During the year Emily O'Reilly identified a high proportion of cases which could be grouped around a single issue, viz., the failure of public bodies to act correctly in accordance with the law and any other rules and regulations. She has devoted Chapter 2 of her report to this issue and gives details of a number of relevant cases under the title "Getting it Right".

07.06.2007 Investigation Report on fostering

Investigation by the Ombudsman against the Health Service Executive into a complaint received from a couple regarding the manner in which it dealt their application to foster three sibling children.

16.02.2006 Superannuation Arrears

The Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has today published her investigation report into complaints which she received from two Public Health Nurses employed with the Mid-Western Health Board (now the Health Service Executive - Mid Western Area). Almost three years after the date of their appointments they received demands from the Health Board for superannuation arrears owing on previous reckonable temporary nursing service. In each case the arrears were calculated using gross salaries that were higher than those applicable at the date of their appointments. Had the amount been calculated at the actual time of their appointments then the arrears due would have been substantially less. The delay on the part of Health Board in calculating the arrears in each case was beyond the control of the complainants and both were financially penalised as a consequence

21.12.2005 Emily O'Reilly Launches Two New Websites

Emily O'Reilly, Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, today launched new websites for both Offices. Speaking at the launch, Ms. O'Reilly said that "this development brings my Offices nearer to existing and potential clients, in that it is now possible to do business with us directly over the web, either through an on-line complaint to me as Ombudsman, or an on-line application and payment to me as Information Commissioner". The Commissioner went on to say that the two sites had been designed to the highest accessibility standards to make them easier to read and navigate. "I felt this particularly important as my remit as Ombudsman will shortly extend into the area of administrative practice in relation to disability services".

08.07.2005 Sligo General Hospital

The Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has today published her investigation report into a complaint which she received from the members of a family, whose father died in January, 2000, two days after he had been admitted to Sligo General Hospital.

05.07.2005 Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2004

The Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has today published her Annual Report for 2004. This report covers Emily O'Reilly's first full year in office since taking up duty as Ombudsman on 1 June 2003. The Ombudsman reports annually to the Oireachtas and the general public on the work of the Office and on issues and cases of interest arising during the year. The 2004 report is of particular importance as it marks the twentieth anniversary of the Office of the Ombudsman in Ireland and in it she calls for the office to be given constitutional status.

17.06.2005 Travers Report issues

The Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has today published her submission to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. The submission discusses issues raised in the Travers Report which are relevant to the previous Ombudsman's Report on Nursing Home Subventions, which was published and presented to the Oireachtas in 2001.

17.02.2005 Nursing Home Charges

Ombudsman's statement on the issue of Nursing Home Charges following the decision of the Supreme Court on 16 February "IN THE MATTER OF ARTICLE 26 OF THE CONSTITUTION AND THE HEALTH (AMENDMENT )(N02) BILL, 2004"

20.12.2004 Nursing Home Charges

The Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, has today outlined her position regarding nursing home charges for medical card holders, and the position she intends to adopt in relation to future complaints about these matters.

15.10.2004 Twentieth Anniversary Conference

This year is the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman. As part of the celebrations to mark the event, the Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, is hosting a conference in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin on October 15th. A large number of guests from home and abroad has been invited to the conference.

15.06.1999 Lost Pension Arrears

The Ombudsman, Kevin Murphy, has today (15 June) published Lost Pension Arrears, a special report to the Oireachtas based on more than 200 complaints received by his Office since 1985. The pensions in question are the contributory old age and the contributory widow's pensions payable by the Department of Social, Community & Family Affairs. The complaints relate to the fact that, when eligible people are late in claiming these pensions, most of the pension arrears remain unpaid. This penalty applies despite the fact that these are contributory pensions where the entitlement is created by the pensioner (or spouse) having paid social insurance while at work. The practice of the Department has been a source of complaint for many years. In 1997 the Ombudsman published an investigation report on the matter and this resulted in an easing, but not the removal, of the penalty. Today's report is a general case study in public administration. It takes the issue of pension arrears as the particular example from which general questions are raised and analysed.

11.02.1998 Investigation Report on the provision of school transport for a child with disabilities

The Ombudsman, Kevin Murphy, has upheld a complaint from the mother of a child with disabilities about the school transport service offered by the Department of Education and Science (DES). In an investigation report published today, Kevin Murphy recommended that the child involved be awarded �6,800 in compensation for the inadequate transport service he was offered. The Ombudsman also recommended that the DES publish a fair school transport scheme catering for children with disabilities. The DES has accepted Kevin Murphy's recommendations and has promised to implement them without delay. The Department of Finance has also accepted his recommendations.