Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I agree with Deputy Deenihan's final point. It is extremely important that people can make complaints to the ombudsman. That is why we introduced legislation to establish her office in the first instance.

I am informed by my officials that there has been a high turnover of staff in the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. I do not know the reason for this. The difficulty is that there is no similar office with which we could compare and contrast the workings of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. The Ombudsman for Children has 15 staff at her disposal. However, she received 750 complaints last year as opposed to the 76 received by the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. The Ombudsman for Children also has a research and advocacy function on behalf of children. We are involved in ongoing discussions with the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces in respect of staffing.

I take Deputy Deenihan's point regarding the building in which the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces is housed. The ombudsman made a request to the OPW to be provided with more suitable accommodation and we have given her our support in this regard. We contacted the OPW on a number of occasions in respect of this matter. In view of the Deputy's question, I will renew my representations to the OPW.

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