Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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108. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman has failed to make preliminary rulings for 500 cases that have been before the Ombudsman for over five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39432/25]

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 consumers and small businesses to resolve complaints against financial service providers and pension service providers.

Complaints are 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.

In 2024 the FSPO closed over 5,900 complaints – a 14% increase on the previous year – and achieved outcomes totalling €5.7 million for consumers of financial services in Ireland in 2024.

86% of complaints are closed within 12 months, mainly through early-stage processes and mediation. However, the time it takes to close a complaint varies with more complex complaints, including those requiring a formal adjudication, generally taking longer to resolve.

As adjudications are legally binding, it is important that every decision arrived at has followed due process and allowed both parties to make submissions and offer observations on the evidence and on the other party’s submissions. The volume of submissions made as part of a complaint, the requirement for a formal jurisdictional determination and the need to place complaints on hold due to litigation can all impact the time to resolve a complaint.

In December 2023, the Minister for Finance sanctioned an increase of over 40% in staff numbers at the FSPO, from 90 to 128, in order to help resolve complaints more promptly.

To date, staff numbers have increased by 30% to 117 on a full-time equivalent basis.