Ombudsman and Information Commissioner

268. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the long waiting periods for cases to go to adjudication at the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (details supplied); the steps he is taking to address these long waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49148/26]

410. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the nature of the cybersecurity incident involving unauthorised access to the IT systems of the Ombudsman. if any data was breached; if there is a need to inform persons engaged with the Ombudsman that their data could have been breached; and if he will make a statement on …

416. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether he has examined the potential for perceived or actual conflicts of interest in cases where a person who has exhausted a hospital’s internal complaints process is directed to the Ombudsman, and may subsequently require an FOI appeal to the Information Commissioner rel…

910. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the safeguards which are in place to ensure the operational independence of the Ombudsman, the Information Commissioner, the Commissioner for Environmental Information and the Protected Disclosures Commissioner, given that these statutory roles are held by the same officehol…

911. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the assessment his Department has made of potential conflicts of interest arising in cases where a member of the public may first engage with the Ombudsman regarding a complaint against a public body, and subsequently require an FOI appeal to the Information Commissioner rel…

912. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether separate staff, decision-making structures or internal firewalls exist within the Office of the Ombudsman to ensure functional separation between the Ombudsman, Information Commissioner, Environmental Information Commissioner and Protected Disclosures Commissioner ro…

913. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether his Department has conducted any review comparing Ireland’s consolidation of the Ombudsman, Information Commissioner, Environmental Information Commissioner and Protected Disclosures Commissioner roles with international best practice; and whether consideration has b…

914. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the steps which are being taken to ensure that the public can have full confidence in the independence and impartiality of statutory oversight bodies housed within the Office of the Ombudsman, particularly in circumstances where the same office holder adjudicates multiple as…

915. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the governance or risk assessments which have been undertaken regarding the concentration of multiple statutory oversight functions within a single office; whether his Department has evaluated if this structure remains appropriate; and if he will make a statement on the matt…

916. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the way the independence of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner is safeguarded when the role is held by the same individual who also serves as Ombudsman and Information Commissioner; if any review has been undertaken to assess whether this structure may deter potential wh…

917. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation his Department's plans to review the statutory model under which the Ombudsman simultaneously holds the roles of Information Commissioner, Environmental Information Commissioner and Protected Disclosures Commissioner, with a view to determining whether structural separation …

388. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the cost of funding five staff positions for procurement specialists in the Office of the Ombudsman. [39204/25]