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Ombudsman welcomes commitment on new disability transport scheme
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In his Annual Report for 2024 [ published today 18 June] Ombudsman Ger Deering has welcomed the commitment that the Department of Transport is to develop a new scheme to support people with disabilities to access personal transport. Over the last thirteen years the Ombudsman and his two predecessors have highlighted the lack of appropriate supports for people with disabilities since the Mobility Allowance and the Motorised Transport Grant were closed to new applicants.
The Ombudsman said he is “cautiously optimistic that a long-standing injustice is about to be righted”. He added that he will closely monitor progress on the new scheme.
The Ombudsman also called on the Government to provide “sustainable and annual funding” to support younger people in nursing homes through the Enhanced Quality of Life Supports (EQLS) scheme and, where appropriate, funding to move to more suitable accommodation. Following the Ombudsman’s ‘Wasted Lives’ investigation in 2021 the HSE set up an ‘Under 65 programme’ and successfully transitioned over 100 people to more suitable accommodation. The scheme also improved the lives of those who could not transition out of nursing homes. However, the HSE has said that there is insufficient funding to continue to assist many of the young people to move to more appropriate accommodation or to continue the EQLS programme. The Ombudsman said, “it is completely unacceptable that this excellent programme, which brought hope and independence to people with disabilities cannot be delivered because of a lack of funding.”
The Ombudsman’s annual report for 2024 highlights the continued increase in complaints about public bodies received by the Ombudsman which has risen by over 30% from 3,664 in 2019 to 4, 778 in 2024.
The Ombudsman’s team dealt with 4,673 complaints last year - an increase of nearly 5% on the 2023 figure.
In 2024, 1,497 complaints were made to the Ombudsman about local authorities, with 218 received about Dublin City Council and 150 about Cork City Council.
1,397 complaints were received about Government Departments and Offices with the Department of Social Protection being the subject of 604 complaints.
There were 887 complaints about public bodies in the Health sector with 705 involving the HSE and 149 about Tusla.
The Ombudsman also highlighted his Outreach programme which saw the Ombudsman engage with local authority Public Participation Networks across Ireland to raise awareness of the Ombudsman role among local groups, including those in Galway, Kilkenny, Offaly, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow during 2024.
The Ombudsman’s annual report for 2024 summarises some of the complaints he upheld in 2024 including:
‘Anne’ contacted the Ombudsman after the Department of Social Protection recalled a payment of over €2,700 it incorrectly believed it had paid to the bank account of her son and carer, Martin, who had recently died. Anne and her family had contacted the Department several times over a 12-month period to highlight the error and get a refund, but the Department refused.
It emerged that while Anne had notified the Department of her son’s death, the Department had attempted to continue to pay Carer’s Allowance and a Carer’s Support Grant into Martin’s account. As his account had been closed, the bank automatically returned any payments to the Department. However, the Department did not know that the payment had been returned and also recalled the payment which meant that the money left Martin’s bank account in error. This error arose as the Department had not updated the returned payments to its account, and therefore believed that Martin had received the payment.
The Department apologised to Anne for the error and refunded the money it had incorrectly retrieved. It also agreed to pay a Carer’s Support Grant of €1,850 to Anne’s family as a goodwill gesture but also as Martin would have met the conditions of that Grant before his death.
‘Fiona’ had a poor experience in the Coombe Hospital when her child was born. She was extremely upset and felt traumatised by the experience. While she had initially raised her concerns with the hospital she remained very upset and ended up making a formal complaint to the hospital two years later. However, the hospital refused to deal with the complaint as it was outside the time limit for making complaints.
The Heath Act, 2004, includes a 12-month time limit for making complaints. However, it also provides for the extension of the time limit where special circumstances make it appropriate to do so.
The Ombudsman queried whether the hospital had considered using its discretion in this case. In response the hospital offered to meet Fiona. As Fiona wanted a written response the hospital issued a comprehensive and empathetic letter which Fiona felt resolved the issues for her.
The Ombudsman raised a similar issue in his annual report for 2023. The Ombudsman called on all public bodies, and particularly those in the health sector, to be mindful that some people may not be in a position to make a complaint within a specific timeframe for a variety of reasons, including feeling upset or traumatised. In such cases the body should consider using its discretion to deal with the complaint.
‘Andrew’ contacted the Ombudsman when his mother’s belongings, including her dentures and shoes, went missing during her time in St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin. The hospital told him that it had no record of the items being with his mother when she was admitted.
However, the Ombudsman discovered evidence that both the woman’s dentures and shoes were with her when she was in the hospital. An initial report from the hospital’s speech and language therapist showed that Andrew’s mother had no issues eating, while a subsequent report highlighted that she was having difficulty eating and was missing some teeth. The Ombudsman also uncovered a therapist’s report that said she had difficulty ‘putting on her shoes’.
The hospital apologised to Andrew and his mother and reimbursed them for the value of the items lost.
END
Note for Editors: Further information on the background to the issues mentioned in this media release are available on the following pages of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2024:
Media Queries:
Dave Nutley
Office of the Ombudsman
Ph: 086 412 0240
Email: david.nutley@ombudsman.ie
6 Earlsfort Terrace
Dublin 2