Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 236: To ask the Minister for Finance if he can clarify if the Financial Services Ombudsman, when it has accepted a complaint and has then asked a financial institution to comment on a complaint, if the Ombudsman must then seek the views or observations of the complainant on the institutions' response before it makes its judgement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28133/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Firstly, I must point out that the Financial Services Ombudsman is independent in the carrying out of his duties. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on how he performs his duties. However, the Financial Services Ombudsman's Bureau has informed me that, in the course of an investigation, the regulated financial service provider will be required to answer a series of questions posed by the Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau. The provider will be asked to submit any material and make any submissions which the provider sees as being desirable to put before the Ombudsman or which the Ombudsman requires to see, so as to enable the Ombudsman to investigate and adjudicate upon the complaint. This must be done within 20 working days.

These responses and documents will be copied to the complainant who will be given 10 working days to submit any observations. Any observations from the complainant will be copied to the provider who will be given 5 working days to submit any further observations. A full exchange of documentation takes place between both parties.