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Chapter 1 - Introduction

Introduction

Background to the Office of the Ombudsman

The word "Ombudsman" is Swedish in origin and means a representative or agent of the people. The King of Sweden appointed the first Ombudsman as long ago as 1809 to investigate complaints against the King's ministers. The Swedish Office long remained unique. In 1919 Finland, after gaining its independence from Russian rule inaugurated an Ombudsman's Office. This, however, attracted little attention in other countries. It was not until Denmark, in 1954, established an Ombudsman's Office that the concept began to attract general attention in countries outside Scandinavia. In 1962 - New Zealand - a country with an administrative system similar to Ireland's - became the first English-speaking country to appoint an Ombudsman. The United Kingdom followed with the appointment of a Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in 1967 and a separate Commissioner for Northern Ireland was appointed in 1969. The last thirty years have witnessed a dramatic growth in the institution throughout the world and there are now almost 110 ombudsman offices worldwide. The legislation setting up an Irish Ombudsman dates back to 1980 and the first Ombudsman, Michael Mills, took up office in 1984. He served with distinction until 1994 when I was appointed Ombudsman by the President following a resolution passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Office investigates complaints about the administrative actions of Government departments, health boards and local authorities and An Post. A brief guide to the Office is included as Appendix 1to this Report.

By the end of 2002 approximately 55,000 valid complaints were handled by the Office. In about 40% of cases some form of redress is achieved which means that approximately 22,000 people will have benefited by coming to the Office. In addition to queries from complainants the Office deals with thousands of telephone calls annually from members of the public seeking information or advice about their entitlements. Advice provided by the Office can range from how to make a complaint to a public body or where to obtain more comprehensive information about various services. The provision of advice has become a growing area of activity for the Office over the years. This is an important service for people with nowhere else to turn. Enquiries as distinct from complaints are now running at a rate of about 10,000 a year.

The Role of the Office

In order to answer the question - "What does the ordinary citizen expect from the Ombudsman?" we must first ask "What do citizens want of their Government and Public Administration?". They want a myriad of things, depending on their circumstances at the time. Citizens are taxpayers, mortgage holders, social welfare recipients, members of the travelling community, employees, politicians, business people, drug addicts, prison inmates; they are young, old, middle-aged, healthy, sick, disabled; they are men, women, poor, rich, informed, uninformed...one could go on indefinitely. But underlying the many and varied interactions between the citizen and public bodies is an expectation on the part of the citizen that he or she will receive fair and proper treatment and if this expectation is not met then the Ombudsman may intercede on the citizen's behalf and provide an appropriate remedy.

However, my role as Ombudsman is not simply a question of examining individual complaints and of ensuring a better quality service to customers or clients. As Senator Maurice Hayes, former Northern Ireland Ombudsman, once put it the Ombudsman must "shine a light into the dark corners of the administration". I often seek to look beyond individual complaints because they may, for instance, reveal a systemic weakness within the public body in question or indeed across a number of public bodies. I may identify a flaw in a particular piece of legislation which is causing inequity for a citizen or a class of citizens which could not have been foreseen when the legislation was first enacted. I do not have the power to change the law but in my Annual Reports or in special systemic reports (see Appendix 6) I can bring such flaws to the attention of the Oireachtas and it, in turn, may then consider amending the particular legislation. I have also established some general principles of good public administration and suggested rules of behaviour for public servants based on experience gained from dealing with individual complaints. In my 1995 Annual Report I set out a checklist of Principles of Good Administration (see Appendix 2) and in my 1996 Annual Report I drew up Standards of Best Practice for Public Servants (see Appendix 3). The complaint examination process is therefore one which may provide lessons for public bodies, benefits for the individual citizen and improvements in the system of public administration.

In addition, I have regularly urged public bodies to establish their own internal complaints systems and I have provided guidelines on how to do so (see Appendix 4). This means that where such complaint systems are in place more and more complaints of a routine nature are being resolved at a local level without the need for referral to my Office. The essence of the Ombudsman's role is, however, the provision of appropriate and adequate redress for the person who has not been treated properly or fairly and I have also published a leaflet on the ways in which appropriate and adequate redress may be given (see Appendix 5).

Powers of the Office

What are the tools at my command when I engage with public bodies on behalf of a complainant? Firstly, I have important statutory powers and I act independently of Government. I can, for instance, seek all relevant files or records from the bodies within my remit. I can ask public officials to come before me to account for their actions. Secondly, I have the support of my staff who are well versed in a myriad of public service schemes and programmes. They also have expertise in legal matters and training in areas such as interviewing, investigation skills and mediation. The service is available on a free and confidential basis to every man, woman and child in the country who has been adversely affected by the administrative actions of those public bodies within the Ombudsman's remit. It may be accessed by means of a letter, fax, email or even a phone call. Thirdly, I believe my Office has established a certain moral authority and a reputation for fairness and independence, with citizens and with public bodies, which I can also draw on in my work.

I have often made the point that in my approach to complaint handling, I am conscious of the fact that the aggrieved individual citizen is quite often at a disadvantage in dealing with a public body which has wide resources at its command. The individual may, for instance, not feel confident about defending his or her position with public officials. In that situation my Office can "level the playing field" by bringing its knowledge, experience and authority to bear on behalf of the complainant. This is why its investigatory role is so important. It enables all the facts to be established in a non-adversarial way and conclusions to be reached on the basis of those facts which are fair to both complainants and public bodies.

This Case Digest

Under Section 6(7) of the Ombudsman Act, 1980 I am obliged to report to the Dáil and Seanad annually. Each of my Annual Reports highlights the main activities of the Office for the year in question, provides statistics on the workload and provides details of cases of interest or concern which arose during the year. In effect, the Annual Report is a snapshot of the work of the Office over a particular twelve month period. In order to complement my Annual Reports I have decided to publish this digest of cases, which not only gives details of individual cases completed in 2000-2001, but highlights the developmental role of the Office over the years. I hope it will prove possible to publish similar case digests from time to time so as to illustrate how staff in the Office tackle cases and achieve solutions to complaints.

It is important that the man and woman in the street becomes more aware of how my Office goes about its work, the strengths and resources which enable it to achieve results and how it can obtain adequate and appropriate redress for the citizen. I hope it will also show those who need the services of my Office that there is a powerful resource at their disposal to assist them in their dealings with public bodies. This case digest will also be of interest to public representatives and organisations which provide advice and support to citizens and I hope it will encourage them to bring the services of my Office to the attention of members of the public who need them. Despite the fact that the Office has been in existence since 1984, I find that many people still have only a vague awareness of its role and the invaluable assistance it can provide to them. This is particularly true of people living in the margins of society or in the more deprived urban areas and, of course, these are often the very people who are most in need of the services of my Office.

Kevin Murphy
Ombudsman
February 2003

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