The Northern Ireland Ombudsman
Tom Frawley
www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk
The Role of the Northern Ireland Ombudsman
The Northern Ireland Ombudsman ensures that every
citizen in Northern Ireland is served by a fair and efficient
public administration that is committed to:
accountability;
openness; and
quality of service.
www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk
The title of Northern Ireland Ombudsman
spans two offices:
•The Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland; and
•The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints
The Ombudsman is completely independent of
the Northern Ireland Assembly, NI Executive,
government departments and public bodies.
www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk
The Northern Ireland Commissioner for
Complaints
• The Ombudsman deals with complaints from
people who believe they have suffered injustice
as a result of maladministration by government
departments and public bodies in Northern
Ireland.
www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk
What is maladministration?
• Used to describe poor administration or the
wrong application of rules.
Examples include:
• Giving advice which is misleading or inadequate;
• Discourtesy and failure to apologise properly for
errors;
• Mistakes in handling your claims;
• Refusing to answer reasonable questions.
www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk
Who else can the Ombudsman investigate?
• The Ombudsman can also investigate
complaints about the exercise of clinical
judgment by health care professionals, such as:
• Doctors
• Dentists
•Pharmacists
•Optometrists
• However the Ombudsman cannot obtain
compensation for individuals.
www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk
When can the NI Ombudsman investigate?
www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk
How does the Ombudsman operate?
• All complaints are treated in the strictest
confidence and services are free of charge
• Although the power of the Ombudsman does not
extend to enforcing any recommendation, the
organisation almost always accepts them
• If an organisation fails to provide the remedy that
is recommended the complainant may seek the
support of the courts.
www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk www.ni-ombudsman.org.uk