Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring:

It is incumbent on all of the ombudsmen organisations to keep under review for the purpose of educating the public the clarity of purpose and the clarity of expectation so that when people come to us they understand what we do and so they have an understanding of their expectation of the service we provide before they engage. That is a challenge. It is kept under review and it also has to go with the flow. At the moment the expectations have to be looked at in the light of Covid. Hopefully in the not too distant future that Covid light will be diminished. Certainly that is our challenge on a day-to-day basis. Perhaps something like a memorandum of understanding would help us and the committee to develop that clarity of purpose and expectation, for ourselves in our own interaction and also, ultimately, for the public.