Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Prasifka and his colleagues. They have stepped into a difficult breach. The work they do presents big challenges. The Ombudsman is really the non-cost crushing opportunity for people who buy services from the financial institutions, have a very unhappy experience and want it sorted out. The Ombudsman’s objective is to be transparent within the privacy of the resolution hall, and to be fair. That is great. I have been there. In the early 1990s I approached the Insurance Ombudsman on a personal matter. One needs the patience of Job to get there with the financial institutions.

Over the past few years, I have wondered whether the industry should not be called the financial self-services industry, rather than services industry because the institutions really put it up to their customers when things do not go right. They are always inclined to think they cannot have an exception because if the exceptions are multiplied by their many thousands of customers they will be at Armageddon. That is why they bring down the shield.