Written answers
Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Department of Finance
Financial Services
Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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255. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of complaints to the Ombudsman for Financial Services in the past three years; the number of these that were deemed ineligible for being out of date or time; if he can clarify whether complaints regarding the actions of banks and financial institutions to the Ombudsman are constrained by the date at which the incident and-or complaint arose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62266/22]
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Office of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) has advised me that it received 14,751 complaints in the three years up to the end of November 2022.
356 of those complaints were deemed ineligible for being outside the time limits set out in the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 (the Act).
The table below provides a breakdown of complaints in each period.
| Period | Complaints Received | Of those received, deemed ineligible pursuant to Section 51 of the Act. |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2019 | 289 | 10 |
| Jan – Dec 2020 | 5,395 | 161 |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 4,658 | 121 |
| Jan – Nov 2022 | 4,409 | 64 |
| TOTAL | 14,751 | 356 |
Section 51 of the Act sets out the relevant time limits within which a complaint must be submitted to the Ombudsman to be deemed eligible.
It prescribes that a complaint that does not relate to a “long-term financial service” shall be made to the Ombudsman not later than 6 years from the date of the conduct giving rise to the complaint.
A complaint about a "long-term financial service" can be made not only within a period of six years of the date of the conduct complained of, but also within a period of three years of a certain "date of knowledge" as prescribed within the Act.
In addition, the Ombudsman has a statutory discretion regarding such complaints to extend the time where there are reasonable grounds for requiring a longer period and it would be just and equitable in all the circumstances to do so.
The Deputy may wish to note that the FSPO’s website contains useful information to assist complainants and providers in understanding the various aspects of the time limits which are relevant to making a complaint.
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