Press Release - 19 September 2006

Address by the Minister for Finance, Mr Brian Cowen TD at the Opening of the new Offices of the Financial Services Ombudsman's Bureau

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. I would like to start by thanking the Financial Services Ombudsman, Mr. Joe Meade, for his kind words and for inviting me here this evening to perform the official opening of the new offices of the Financial Services Ombudsman’s Bureau.

As Joe has rightly pointed out the Bureau came into being in April 2005, and a measure of its great success has been its growing profile among consumers and industry. The amalgamation of the two voluntary schemes within the new statutory role of the Financial Services Ombudsman, 18 months ago, has been a major step forward in the modernisation of our regulatory structures for the financial sector. It is an important part of the new architecture for financial services regulation in this country.

This Government has successfully put in place, under the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Acts, a regulatory system for financial services that conforms to best practice international standards. We now have a modern, consumer-focused regulatory system for the financial services sector in Ireland. This is making a major contribution to the objective of maintaining Ireland’s reputation for having a business friendly, but well regulated financial services sector. This is confirmed by the recent positive IMF Assessment which welcomed the strengthening of the regulatory and supervisory framework.

The role of the Financial Services Ombudsman is central in underpinning consumer confidence in the effectiveness of the new regime, complimenting the role of the Financial Regulator in safeguarding consumer interests. The Ombudsman exercises an independent statutory function, operating in a strictly balanced and transparent fashion to investigate cases where individuals may have suffered as a result of, for example, misconduct by a financial institution or a failure to play fair with customers. I know that that independence will be strongly protected by Joe and his team here.

It is evident from the statistics published by the Ombudsman on his findings, and also from the information made available by him on the results of individual cases that the work of his Office is soundly based on the principles of fairness and consistency. This balanced approach is borne out by the fact that the Ombudsman has found in favour of the complainant in 50% of investigated cases. This confirms that he is neither a champion of the Consumer nor of Industry but a fair arbiter of disputed cases brought to his attention. Furthermore I’m very happy to acknowledge the support the Ombudsman is receiving from all financial service providers, and I take this as a vote of confidence for the operation of the Financial Services Ombudsman.

The Financial Services Ombudsman, along with the Pensions Ombudsman and the Financial Regulator were established to function as part of an integrated regulatory system. I am glad to see that the Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by these parties and this facilitates a cohesive approach to financial regulation, and ensures that consumers can pursue their complaints in an environment where there is structured cooperation between the three bodies concerned.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the Financial Services Ombudsman Council, and in particular to its Chairman – Con Power. As the current membership of the Council expires in the next couple of weeks I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for a job well done. The Council played a critical role in the early days, setting up the Bureau, and selecting an Ombudsman, and it continues to contribute to the effective running of the Bureau.

I would like to echo the appreciation for the OPW, and their work on refurbishing the premises to such a standard, and I would like to thank my colleague, Minister for State Tom Parlon, and his officials, for their valuable input .

Finally, it is left for me to formally open these new premises and to wish every success to the Financial Services Ombudsman’s Bureau.

Congratulations.