Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 124: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that most of the case workers in the Office of the Ombudsman dealing with complaints against local authorities and particularly with planning application complaints, have a two day qualification in planning law and do not have a third level qualification in planning; his views on same in view of the nature of the work involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32286/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The role of the Office of Ombudsman is to investigate complaints about the administrative actions of Government Departments, the Health Service Executive, local authorities and An Post. In order to discharge these functions the Office seeks to recruit staff with experience of, and expertise in, the various sectors covered by its remit, including the functions administered by the local government sector.

It is important to distinguish between the qualifications required for the discharge of professional functions in local authorities and the expertise and qualifications required in the Ombudsman's Office to investigate administrative actions and procedures. In this regard I would point out that the staff of the Ombudsman have no role in relation to the making of planning decisions, and that the avenue of appeal from such decisions is to An Bord Pleanála.

Given the broad range of issues dealt with by local authorities, it would not be possible or practical, and as already indicated it is not necessary, to have all the Ombudsman's Office staff qualified academically in all of the fields of local authority activity. However, training provided for Ombudsman staff dealing with complaints against local authorities includes a training course in planning law run by Trinity College, Dublin. All case workers assigned permanently to the examination/ investigation of local authority complaints have taken this course and are up to speed with the relevant aspects of planning legislation as it relates to planning administration and planning enforcement.

I am informed by the Ombudsman's Office that they seek to ensure that staff have an appropriate mix of the competencies relevant to their work, from good investigation skills to relevant technical knowledge and experience or expertise in the complaint subject matter, and that given the role of the Office in relation to planning matters, they are satisfied that current arrangements with regard to staff training are appropriate.