The office of the Ombudsman received 93 complaints in 2018 relating to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, according to a new report from the Government watchdog.
This was the third highest number of complaints received across all Government departments. However, it was only a fraction of all complaints.
The Ombudsman received 1,069 complaints in total, of which the vast majority – 700 – were levelled against the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
Of the 93 complaints received against the Department of Agriculture, 85 of them were brought to a conclusion.
However, well over half of these complaints – 50 to be precise – were not upheld by the Ombudsman.
Of the remainder, 16 complaints were upheld, two were partially upheld, and in three cases, the report says that “assistance was provided” to the party concerned.
10 cases were withdrawn or discontinued, while four were found to be outside the remit of the Ombudsman.
The department was asked to review its decision, which it did, subsequently allowing the transfer.
