Mr. Peter Tyndall:

This matter concerns me and is one of the issues that prompted the health complaints so-called own initiative inquiry that is under way and due to report early in the new year. Having examined the low levels of complaints in some sectors, one of my concerns is something the Chairman has described, namely, people do not apply to my office because they do not know that they can. There are other reasons. For example, people can be worn down by the lengthy and convoluted complaints processes they must go through. With a standardised approach to complaints handling, one can make it a requirement to include a standard phrase in all correspondence concerning complaints. It is a matter of concern and I will examine it. Whenever we receive a complaint where the individual has not been notified of his or her entitlement to apply to the Ombudsman, we raise it with the body concerned. With so many different bodies dealing with public service complaints and so many different approaches to complaints, it is inevitable that, unless some element of standardisation is introduced, we will not get the notification as smoothly and comprehensively as we should.