Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also hope to be brief. I warmly welcome the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, to the House. This Bill makes absolute sense. It is important when something makes sense and has been teased out and argued, and its merits put forward, we should move on with it. There is much criticism of new politics, but it can only be new politics if those from all parties and none make it work. That is our challenge.

I acknowledge the broad consultation on this Bill. We have had much debate and discussion around this legislation and for that I thank the Minister of State. The financial services and pensions ombudsman is a statutory officer who deals independently with unresolved complaints for consumers about their individual dealings with all regulatory financial service providers. The statutory role of the Pensions Ombudsman is to investigate complaints of a financial loss due to maladministration and disputes on facts of law in relation to occupational pension schemes, trusts, retirement, annuity, contracts and personal retirement savings accounts. The Pensions Ombudsman performs these functions independently and acts as an impartial adjudicator. The funding of all this and the resources that will be necessary for this new merged outfit is important, and I will raise this later with the Minister of State.

The Bill before us seeks to amalgamate the office of the Financial Services Ombudsman and Pensions Ombudsman which makes absolute sense, as Senator Horkan said. There can be no diminution of the role of the office or its strength and effectiveness. This is about supporting consumers and resolving issues in the financial services market and everything that goes with it. It cannot be seen to water down the impact of what is needed, whether it is righting a wrong, mediation and addressing issues which are pertinent to the role and functions of an ombudsman.

The proposed legislation provides consumers with a one-stop shop for inquiries, which makes sense, and the potential to remedy complaints relating to pensions and financial products. It proposes to consolidate and update the legislation including an extension of time limits for complaints to the ombudsman. This is something that people have called out for and again we have seen the Minister of State respond to the public demand and genuine concern. I welcome all these things.

In April 2013, the Government agreed to accept the recommendations to an important report, a critical review under the public service reform plan, to amalgamate the office of the Financial Services Ombudsman and the Pensions Ombudsman. It argued that the functions of the two organisations were "sufficiently similar to provide opportunities for improvements in the quality of the service to make such an amalgamation desirable," and it can work. The then Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, had announced the intention to amalgamate the two bodies in April 2013.I do not see any members of the Labour Party in attendance but it is worth noting that was her recommendation as Minister at the time. In addition to the amalgamation of both offices, the opportunity was taken to review the existing legislation. It is important that that was done in order for the Bill to be meaningful, as the Minister of State has demonstrated it is. I have read the memorandum and other literature in this regard. A root and branch review of both bodies and how the services worked was carried out and it was decided that what is proposed by the Bill is a better option.

I am fully happy to support every aspect of this legislation. It is a good, timely and welcome Bill. The Minister of State is pushing it very early in his time in office and I wish him well with it. He should address how it will be resourced and how the new body will be funded. That is very important. I again thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and for the rapid manner in which he has pushed the Bill forward. He has also listened to, engaged with and responded to various concerns raised.