Written answer
Financial Services
202. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the current number of complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman awaiting adjudication; the steps being taken to address cases experiencing lengthy delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53265/26]
Comment on this
The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) provides an independent, fair, impartial, confidential and free service to resolve complaints by consumers about the conduct of regulated financial service providers and pension providers.
The FSPO has advised that the number of complaints currently progressing through FSPO processes is 7,480. Of those complaints that have not been resolved through mediation and which have completed the Investigation process, 839 are currently awaiting assignment to an Adjudication Officer. A further 966 have commenced the Adjudication process.
The FSPO closed 6,282 complaints in 2025, representing a 6% increase on the number closed in 2024 and a 34% increase on the number closed in 2022. However from 2022 to 2025, the number of complaints received by the FSPO increased by 46% from 4,781 to 7,004.
According to the latest FSPO data, 88% of complaints closed in the FSPO in 2025 were closed within 12 months, mainly through early-stage processes and mediation.
For all complaints that closed in 2025, including tracker mortgage complaints, the average time from receipt of complaint to closure, was 8.3 months.
More complex complaints, including those requiring a formal adjudication take longer to resolve. This reflects the fact that adjudications by the FSPO are legally binding and accordingly every decision arrived at has to follow due process.
In December 2023, the Minister for Finance sanctioned a significant increase in additional staff for the FSPO under its Workforce Plan 2024-2026. This increased the sanctioned staff complement from 90 to 128, a more than 40% increase.
This additional resourcing has been provided to the FSPO in order for them to resolve complaints more promptly and address the increasing number of complaints being made to the FSPO.