How to complain about a public service

HAVE you a complaint about a public service?

As of January 10, 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman is running a drop in clinic from Cork City Centre Citizens Information Centre (CIC) on Cornmarket Street from 2p to 4pm on the second Wednesday of every month.

This is a fantastic resource for the people of Cork city. During these clinics, the public can meet staff from the Office of the Ombudsman, get information on making complaints or discuss a complaint they have made. No appointment is necessary.

The Office of the Ombudsman examines complaints from members of the public who believe they have been treated unfairly by a public body. It also examines complaints about public service organisations that fail to provide accessible buildings, services and information, as required in the Disability Act 2005. You can contact the Ombudsman if you are unhappy with a public body’s response to your complaint.

The Office of the Ombudsman is independent and complaints are examined in a fair and impartial way. The service is free.

What can you complain to the Ombudsman about?

You can make a complaint to the Ombudsman if you are unhappy with the service provided by the following:

• Government departments
• Local authorities
• The Health Service Executive (HSE)
• Third-level education bodies
• Private nursing homes

A full list is available on the Ombudsman website. Be aware, you cannot make a complaint to the Ombudsman about:

• An Garda Síochána

• Telecommunications or postal companies (including An Post, utility companies, insurance companies, banks or financial institutions. Contact your local CIC for a full list of exempt agencies or check out our website, 

  www.citizensinformation.ie.

You must make a complaint to the relevant service provider first. The Office of the Ombudsman has information about how to complain to a service provider on their website or you can contact your local CIC for assistance.

What type of complaints can the Ombudsman investigate?

The Ombudsman can investigate a complaint if you believe a public service body has given you the wrong information or your complaint has not been dealt with properly.

They can also investigate a decision that you think is unfair, or that the reason for the decision has not been properly explained to you. You can also complain about delays in a public body making a decision.

There are certain complaints that the Ombudsman cannot examine, including complaints about:

• Clinical judgements of doctors or other medical professionals
• Job applications
• Decisions relating to immigration or naturalisation
• How prisons are run

Remember, the Office of the Ombudsman cannot examine a complaint if you have already started legal proceedings against a public body for the same complaint.

How are complaints to the Ombudsman investigated?

The Ombudsman first decides if they can handle your complaint. If they can, they begin a preliminary investigation and ask the public service body to provide relevant information. You may also be informally interviewed at this stage.

Once the information has been gathered, and investigated, the Ombudsman will decide whether your complaint should be upheld or not.

Depending on the outcome, they may ask the provider to change its decision or offer an explanation, redress or both. The Ombudsman can only make recommendations. Their decisions are not legally binding.”

How to make a complaint

Before making a complaint to the Ombudsman, you must make a complaint to the relevant service provider first. If your complaint meets the criteria outlined above, and you wish to make a complaint to the Ombudsman you can start the process by either

• Attending the monthly Ombudsman Outreach Clinic in Cornmarket Street,
• By filling out an online form or Make A Complaint at www.ombudsman.ie
• By filling out an application form and posting it to The Office of the Ombudsman, 6, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773.

Generally, complaints must be received within 12 months of the decision or action that you want to complain about took place.

However, the Ombudsman may investigate a complaint beyond this time limit, if there is a good reason for the delay.

Cork City Centre Ombudsman Clinics will take place on the second Wednesday of every month from 2pm to 4pm. No appointment is necessary, just turn up on the following dates to meet staff from the Office of the Ombudsman:

• February 14
• March 13
• April 10
• May 8

Our telephone lines at South Munster Citizens Information in Cork city are monitored from 10am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday. In addition, the Cork City Centre CIC in Cornmarket Street is open to the public Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 9.45am to 1pm and Wednesdays from 2pm to 4.30pm. The Blackpool CIC is open to the public each morning from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday and Thursday.

Full details for all Citizens Information Centres and their opening times are available on our website.