Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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16. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 290 of 23 June 2015, his views on concerns that the in-house complaints process results in only 4% of cases being re-examined; the reason for this low level; if he is aware that there are now three judicial reviews pending against decisions made by the Ombudsman; his views on an independent review of the in-house complaints process to ensure that it is robust and fair, and does not lead to unnecessary and expensive court challenges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35895/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Ombudsman is independent of Government and is accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas. There is no statutory appeal of the outcome of investigations by the Ombudsman, and, given the independent nature of the Office, it would not be appropriate to have one. The Ombudsman reports to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions which is responsible for receiving and debating the Ombudsman's annual and special reports, and for ensuring that his findings and recommendations are acted upon.

However, the Ombudsman has a voluntary non-statutory internal appeals procedure to cater for persons who are not satisfied with the outcome of their complaint to the Ombudsman and wish the Office to re-examine their complaint. In 2014, 4% of complainants decided to avail of the appeals procedure. This seems an appropriate figure, particularly as most complainants have previously been through the appeals procedure of the public service provider against whom they are complaining before contacting the Ombudsman. I am not aware of any concerns over the Ombudsman's appeals procedure.

To date the Ombudsman has not been the subject of a judicial review. The website of the Courts Service indicates that there may be four applications recently initiated, all of which appear to have a common subject matter. The Ombudsman has not been formally notified of these applications.