Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This committee has two key remits. One is to receive petitions from the public relating to the reform of public services. We engage with those petitions and bring in witnesses such as Ministers and Secretaries General. The other remit is to engage with the various ombudsmen and support their recommendations as often as possible. If recommendations are not implemented, we follow up on that. We take this role very seriously, and a range of ombudsmen will come before the committee in the autumn and winter.

The public sees an ombudsman as an independent arbiter who is independently funded and, thus, is not beholden to Government budgets, cutbacks and so on. As Pensions Ombudsman, Mr. Kenny must have the resources he requires to hold the pensions sector to account independently. How should an ombudsman's office be perceived by the public, and does Mr. Kenny's office fit into this? Does Mr. Kenny's office need more powers?