Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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48. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is aware of remarks by the Ombudsman seeking greater power to investigate complaints against private sector providers of public services and public service providers not currently covered within his remit; his plans to expand the remit of the Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19748/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the Ombudsman's view that, generally speaking, his Office should have remit over private sector providers of public services.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 greatly extended the remit of the Ombudsman with some 180 additional public bodies coming under his remit. The Ombudsman legislation provides that the Ombudsman may examine administrative actions taken by or on behalf of bodies within his remit. This means, for instance, that bodies such as Section 38 bodies which are provided with funding to deliver services for and on behalf of the Health Service Executive and Section 39 bodies which are provided with funding to assist them to provide health and social care services, can have their actions examined by the Ombudsman.

Furthermore, under the 2012 Act, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has the power to make an order bringing a body under the Ombudsman's remit if it is financed, wholly or partly, or directly or indirectly by means of monies provided by a Minister of the Government. This enabled the bringing in of over four hundred and thirty private nursing homes under the Ombudsman's remit with effect from 24 August 2015 under the terms of SI 300 of 2015.

My Department engages regularly with the Office of the Ombudsman and issues such as the extent of its remit are kept under frequent review.