Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely. This is probably one of the most important Bills to come to the House in a long time. People in Limerick have told me that issues in respect of dealing with the ombudsman and related time limits in particular are very important. Sinn Féin brought forward a Private Members' Bill on this issue which will now be superseded and is consolidated in this Bill.

Many people come to my constituency office having experienced an issue with a financial provider and then suddenly found that six years had elapsed from the date of the conduct complained of. Most may not even have been aware during that time of what was happening. It was unfair. The biggest short-term issue is that people will now be able to seek to re-open a case with the financial ombudsman over conduct going back as far as 2002 so long as the financial product had not expired or been terminated more than six years before the complaint was made. That gives a window of opportunity. People who feel they were ripped of in respect of a financial service but whose time period to make a complaint to the ombudsman had elapsed will now be able to go back to the ombudsman and get the case re-opened.

This legislation has gone through the Dáil and is due to be passed through the Seanad in its entirety this week. It should then go to the President as quickly as possible to be enacted. The ombudsman would be ready for that enactment. An information campaign should be begun by the financial ombudsman to inform people of the changes and should provide a freephone number for people seeking information about whether they can now make a complaint about a product in respect of which they felt they were ripped off in the past. People must be made aware that if the conduct complained of took place since 2002 and the product had not elapsed for more than six years from when an original complaint was put in, they can now re-enter the complaint. I welcome that window of opportunity. The Bill should be enacted as quickly as possible.

Section 26 provides that a strategic plan be completed by the ombudsman as soon as practicable following the establishment of the Bill and updated every three years thereafter. We must ensure that those targets are met and that by the end of this year the strategic plan will be known. Section 58 deals with mediation. The Financial Services Ombudsman should be a measure of last resort. I hope this Bill puts manners on financial service providers and that problems with a person who has been treated badly in respect of a financial services product be sorted out through a financial service provider's internal mediation process, rather than the case going to the ombudsman. That is extremely important.

I welcome that the ombudsman will be able to provide preliminary decisions. A practical measure should be put in place whereby people with legacy issues who could not previously make a complaint to the ombudsman because the six-year deadline had elapsed will now be made aware that if the conduct complained of happened within the past 15 years and that the product had been in place for less than six years prior to the date they made the original complaint to the ombudsman that, they can seek to have the case re-opened. There are many such people. When the Bill is enacted and up and running, banks and financial institutions should take heed of what it is purporting to do and resolve it by mediation. The ombudsman should issue preliminary decisions as a matter of course in order that people be aware of whether or not they will get an oral hearing, the reasons for that and how long the process will take. Section 62 of the Bill provides for the publication of decisions, which should ensure an optimal balance and promote transparency. Redacted details should be published which would provide a standard and benchmark for financial service providers to adopt. That would help to ensure that routine cases be dealt with by financial service providers rather than ending up before the ombudsman.

There should be no requirement for a financial services and pensions ombudsman. Financial service providers should act in the best interests of their client as well as their own interest. Members know of too many instances in which elderly people in particular have been ripped off. Many such people have contacted me in regard to this issue. Members must consider whether a commission-based payment scheme for those selling these financial products has contributed to the selling of products that are not fit for purpose.