Almost 150 complaints made to the Ombudsman about Cork local authorities in 2022 

Almost 150 complaints about Cork City Council and Cork County Council were made to the Ombudsman in 2022, The Echo can reveal.

Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows that 77 complaints were made to the office of the Ombudsman about Cork City Council last year.

The vast majority of these complaints related to housing. These included issues relating to housing allocations, repairs and transfers.

The rest of the complaints centred around issues such as traffic, roads and sewerage, to name a few.

Meanwhile, Cork County Council was the subject of 65 complaints that were lodged with the Ombudsman in 2022, again with most of these relating to housing issues. 

The Ombudsman can examine complaints about how local authorities carry out their everyday executive and administrative activities.

Before people complain to the Ombudsman, they are encouraged to try to resolve their problem with the local authority concerned.

Most complaints to the Ombudsman about local authorities concern housing and planning, particularly the enforcement of planning decisions, according to the Ombudsman website.

The office of the Ombudsman will decide whether the complaint is justified or not, and whether or not to involve the local authority.

Both Cork City and County Councils were contacted for comment.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council said:

“The Office of the Ombudsman notified Cork City Council of 61 complaints in 2022 across a range of services.

“Cork City Council is a large urban local authority with over 1,500 employees providing a wide and diverse range of public service to a population of approx. 220,00 citizens.

“Given this, 61 complaints equates to 0.027% of the population of Cork city, which is an indication of the excellent service that Cork City Council provides to its citizens and visitors.

“The role of the Ombudsman is to investigate complaints received and decide if the complaint is valid or not.

“Following investigation they can decide to uphold, not uphold or partially uphold a complaint. A case can also be closed as assistance is provided.

“All of these scenarios have been covered in the cases that are closed to date for 2022.”