Ombudsman receives record number of complaints from Dublin

The number of complaints made by Dubliners about public services topped 1,000 last year as the Ombudsman recorded the busiest year in the Office’s history.

The Ombudsman’s Annual Report for 2025 reveals that 1,005 complaints were received from people living in the capital, while nationally the Office handled a record 5,297 complaints in 2025.

That represents an 11 per cent increase on the previous year and is the highest number of complaints received in more than 30 years.

The Ombudsman investigates complaints from members of the public about a wide range of public bodies, including local authorities, Government departments, the HSE and other public services. During 2025, the Office investigated 4,996 complaints, a six per cent increase on the previous year, while staff also responded to more than 9,000 public enquiries.

Local authorities continued to generate the largest number of complaints, with cases across the sector increasing by 20 per cent nationally to 1,793.

Among Dublin’s councils, Dublin City Council was the subject of 248 complaints, followed by Fingal County Council with 136, South Dublin County Council with 107 and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council with 52.

The report also details complaints involving hospitals and third level institutions across the capital.

The Mater Hospital received 32 complaints, while St Vincent’s Hospital was the subject of 24 complaints and St James’s Hospital received 21.

In the higher education sector, Dublin City University accounted for 18 complaints, followed by Trinity College Dublin with 12, Technological University Dublin with 10 and University College Dublin with eight.

Government departments and offices were the subject of 1,502 complaints nationally.

The Department of Social Protection accounted for almost half of those, with 686 complaints received by the Ombudsman’s Office.

A further 861 complaints related to public bodies in the health sector, including 720 involving the HSE and 110 concerning Tusla.

Speaking on the publication of the report, Ombudsman Ger Deering said his Office had seen a continued rise in complaints in recent years and had been working with local authorities to improve how complaints are handled.

“The Local Authority Complaints Policy is being rolled out by local authorities during 2026,” he said.

“I am hopeful that its implementation will improve service delivery and complaint handling by local authorities, and so benefit everyone using their services.”

The standardised complaints policy was developed following engagement between the Ombudsman’s Office and the local government sector in response to the steady increase in complaints about council services in recent years.

The report also provides an update on the Ombudsman’s investigation into the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme.

Mr Deering said progress had been made on a number of recommendations arising from the investigation, but added that his Office would continue to engage with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

He said the recommendations, if fully implemented, would bring real improvements for people who rely on the scheme.

Complaints received by the Ombudsman during 2025 covered a broad range of public services, including social welfare payments, housing applications, hospital services, private nursing home care and public third level education.

The annual report also highlights a number of individual cases dealt with by the Office.

They include people who were wrongly removed from housing waiting lists, an overseas pension application that was refused after a Government department sent the wrong medical report to an overseas authority, confusion over university entry qualifications and issues encountered during passport applications.

The Ombudsman said the report demonstrates the importance of an accessible and effective complaints process in ensuring public bodies are held accountable and that people receive fair treatment when accessing public services.