Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This section deals with mediation and seeks to place a greater onus on financial institutions to engage in the Financial Services Ombudsman mediation process. Again, this legislation was published in 2014. Since then, we have seen a change in the way the Financial Services Ombudsman is operating. There are far more cases of mediation, which is to be welcomed. There are also far more positive results in the service in recent times. That process is voluntary at present and this section puts an onus on the financial institutions, where they refuse to mediate, to give a reason for their refusal to engage in the mediation process.