Cork residents lodged 445 complaints with the Ombudsman in 2024, with Cork City Council attracting the highest number locally at 150 complaints, according to the annual report published today by Ombudsman Ger Deering.

The figures show a slight decrease from 455 Cork complaints in 2023, bucking the national trend which has seen complaints surge by over 30% since 2019. Nationally, the Ombudsman’s office dealt with 4,673 complaints last year, up nearly 5% from 2023.

Cork County Council received 67 complaints, while Cork University Hospital faced 14 complaints and University College Cork had 4 complaints made against it during 2024.

Ger Deering, Ombudsman:

“I am cautiously optimistic that a long-standing injustice is about to be righted” regarding the Department of Transport’s commitment to develop a new scheme supporting people with disabilities to access personal transport.

The Ombudsman has repeatedly highlighted over thirteen years the lack of appropriate supports since the Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant were closed to new applicants.

A significant concern raised in the report involves younger people with disabilities in nursing homes. Following the Ombudsman’s ‘Wasted Lives’ investigation in 2021, the HSE successfully transitioned over 100 people to more suitable accommodation through the ‘Under 65 programme’. However, insufficient funding now threatens the programme’s continuation.

Ger Deering:

“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 report includes several case studies where the Ombudsman upheld complaints, including a Department of Social Protection error that saw over €2,700 wrongly recalled from a deceased carer’s account, and a woman whose belongings went missing in St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin.

Nationally, local authorities received 1,497 complaints, with Dublin City Council topping the list at 218 complaints. The Department of Social Protection faced the most complaints overall with 604, while the HSE received 705 complaints in the health sector.

The Ombudsman’s outreach programme during 2024 engaged with Public Participation Networks across Ireland, including counties Galway, Kilkenny, Offaly, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow, to raise awareness of the office’s role among local groups.