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Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2003

Chapter 4 - Visitors to my Office

Visitors to my Office

In May my predecessor met with the newly appointed Pensions Ombudsman, Mr Paul Kenny.

During the year my Office received visits from two separate groups from Uganda. The purpose of the visits was to receive briefings on the work of the Office and the statutory powers at my disposal in resolving complaints. The first visit took place in June and comprised a delegation from the Ugandan Directorate of Ethics and Integrity, the Inspectorate of Government and the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions. In September the Office received a visit from a Ugandan Parliamentary delegation led by Rt. Hon. Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, M.P., Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament.

In April 2003 the former Greek Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros was appointed European Ombudsman and I was very pleased to meet him in July to discuss issues of mutual interest. I look forward to continuing the fruitful co-operation between our two offices.

In October 2003, Ms Alice Brown, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and Ms Judie Sadler, a senior member of her staff, visited the Office. Discussions were held in relation to planning issues and also in relation to my Office's processes and procedures in the area of complaint handling. They also visited An Bord Pleanála and I would like to acknowledge the assistance of the staff of An Bord Pleanála in facilitating the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, in particular, Ms Berna Grist, Board Member, who at short notice, briefed her on the Irish planning system.

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