Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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54. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of complaints submitted to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman which are yet to be allocated to a complaint handler; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6229/21]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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55. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of complaints submitted to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman which are yet to be allocated to a complaint handler disaggregated by the number of weeks since they were first submitted with intervals of one week. [6230/21]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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56. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of complaints submitted to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman which remain unresolved disaggregated by the number of months since they were first submitted with intervals of one month. [6231/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 54, 55 and 56 together.

Firstly, I must point out that the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) is independent in the performance of his statutory functions.  I have no role in the day to day workings of the office or in the decisions which he takes.

The FSPO has informed me that it has improved the quality and speed of its service considerably over the last year. All complaints now received by the FSPO are subject to an initial review within 5 working days of receipt. Following this initial review, complaints that appear to have been submitted accompanied by all of the required documentation, and where the Complainant has exhausted the provider’s Internal Dispute Resolution mechanism in advance, are assigned within 2 business days of the initial assessment to an officer to conduct a verification review. These files are “Ready for Review”. There are currently 0 (no) such files within the FSPO awaiting assignment to an officer at 2 February 2021.  

The FSPO is currently receiving approximately 450 complaints per month.  In some cases the initial review indicates that further information is required. This may be required in order to conduct a detailed assessment, to establish for example, whether the complainant has made the complaint to the Financial Service Provider (FSP), or to the correct FSP, or whether the complaint falls within the jurisdiction of the FSPO investigate. Where this is established the initial assessment team will write to the complainant to outline the required information. The complaint will then be assigned for detailed assessment depending on the capacity of the team. There are currently 548 files at this Assessment stage awaiting assignment to an officer to progress.

Of the 548 complaints awaiting assignment;

- The FSPO is awaiting documentation from the parties in 308 complaints,

- The FSPO has issued reminders to submit required information in an additional 101 complaints,

- The remaining 139 complaints are awaiting detailed review.

The number of complaints (548) awaiting assignment by weeks since being submitted to the FSPO are as follows:-

I am advised by the FSPO has that the data contained in this response is extracted from a live database and therefore depicts complaint information at a specific moment in time. Data in this database is subject to ongoing verification and data categorisation as the understanding of the specific complaint is developed. The data is correct as of 2 February 2021.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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57. To ask the Minister for Finance the average cost of resolving each complaint submitted to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. [6232/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Firstly, I must point out that the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) is independent in the performance of his statutory functions.  I have no role in the day to day workings of the office or in the decisions which he takes.

The Ombudsman has informed me that the manner in which complaints are dealt with and the resources deployed in managing individual complaints varies considerably, depending on the stage in the FSPO’s processes in which complaint is closed. For this reason, is it not possible to determine the “average cost” of managing individual complaints.

However, the full operating costs of the FSPO are set out in the FSPO’s Annual Report, following completion of an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General, and published on the FSPO’s website at www.fspo.ie.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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58. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of complaints submitted to the Financial and Services Pension Ombudsman since 1 March 2020. [6233/21]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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59. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of complaints submitted to the Financial and Services Pension Ombudsman between 1 March 2019 and 1 March 2020. [6234/21]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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60. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of complaints made against banks submitted to the Financial and Services Pension Ombudsman since 1 March 2020. [6235/21]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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61. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of complaints made against insurance companies submitted to the Financial and Services Pension Ombudsman since 1 March 2020. [6236/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 58, 59, 60 and 61 together.

As the Deputy is aware, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) is independent in the performance of his statutory functions and I have no role in the day to day workings of the office or in the decisions which he takes.

The FSPO informs me that:-

- The number of complaints received by the FSPO from 1 March 2020 to 2 February 2021 is 4,902.

- The number of complaints received by the FSPO from 1 March 2019 - 29 February 2020 is 5,405.

- The number of Banking complaints received by the FSPO from 1 March 2020 to 2 February 2021 is 2,581.

- The numbers of Insurance complaint received by the FSPO from 1 March 2020 to 2 February 2021 is 1,511.

I am advised by the FSPO that the data contained in this response is extracted from a live database and therefore depicts complaint information at a specific moment in time. Data in this database is subject to ongoing verification and data categorisation as the understanding of the specific complaint is developed. The data is correct as of 2 February 2021.