Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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30. To ask the Minister for Finance if he is concerned about the trend in Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman outcomes that has seen a rapidly declining rate of upheld complaints; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16308/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) provides an independent, fair, impartial, confidential and free service to resolve complaints from consumers, including small businesses and other organisations, against financial service providers and pension providers.

The FSPO was established in January 2018 by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017, and the Ombudsman is independent in the performance of his or her functions.

Complaints can be resolved through either informal mediation, leading to a potential settlement agreed between the parties, or formal investigation and adjudication, leading to a legally binding decision.

As set out in the FSPO'S recently published 2024 Overview of Complaints, in 2024, the FSPO received 6,185 complaints, maintaining the historically high level of complaints received in 2023 (6,182).

The FSPO closed 14% more complaints during 2024 (5,907 complaints) than in 2023 (5,184 complaints closed).

This delivered outcomes of approximately €5.7million to consumers in 2024.

The FSPO resolves a majority of complaints in the early stages and through mediation within the Dispute Resolution Service and encourages settlements at the earliest stage.

In 2024, 5,345 complaints were closed either in early-stage assessments and interventions in their Customer Operations and Information Management department, or in mediation. This compares to 3,812 such closures in 2020.

The increased focus on resolving complaints through mediation includes offering a return to mediation in certain circumstances, to some customers who had been referred for a formal investigation. The FSPO plan to continue to extend this opportunity, where appropriate, in 2025.

When a complaint is not resolved through mediation, it may then be transferred to a formal investigation.

Each complaint dealt with through their formal investigation process, which requires a legally binding decision, is adjudicated based on the merits of the complaint.