Irish government and state agencies
The Ombudsman for Children - http://www.oco.ie
The Ombudsman for Children holds the unique, independent and statutory position to promote the rights and welfare of children and young people living in Ireland. The Ombudsman for Children's mission is to be an independent voice and catalyst for change on behalf of all children and young people in Ireland, to promote their rights and welfare and to promote a shared responsibility for developing a society where children and young people are better respected. The current Ombudsman is Emily Logan.
The Pensions Ombudsman - http://www.pensionsombudsman.ie
The Pensions Ombudsman independently investigates and decides complaints and disputes involving occupational pension schemes and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs). The current Pensions Ombudsman is Paul Kenny. You can complain to the Pensions Ombudsman if you believe you have suffered financial loss because of poor administration of a pension scheme or PRSA and if you are an actual or potential beneficiary of an occupational pension scheme or a PRSA. Without claiming to be at a financial loss, anyone eligible to complain can refer a dispute of fact or law to the Pensions Ombudsman. There is no cost to the public for this service.
Money Advice and Budgeting Service - http://www.mabs.ie
MABS is a national free, confidential and independent service for people in debt or in danger of getting into debt. People can speak to a Money Advisor who will help them to work out a plan for dealing with their finances and where necessary may intervene on their behalf with creditors or financial institutions.
Citizens Information Board - http://www.citizensinformationboard.ie
Citizens Information Board is the national support agency responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice and advocacy on social services. Citizens Information Board provides citizens information for the general public; support for information providers, e.g. voluntary and statutory organisations; and social policy and research information.
Law Reform Commission - http://www.lawreform.ie
The LRC's main function is to keep the law under review and make recommendations for its reform. It is an independent body corporate established under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975. The Commission carries out its functions under the Act in two primary ways: pursuant to programmes of law reform which it draws up in consultation with the Attorney General and which are government-approved; and pursuant to specific requests (or "references") by the Attorney General to the Commission in relation to particular branches or matters of law.
The Financial Services Ombudsman - http://www.financialombudsman.ie
The Financial Services Ombudsman is a statutory officer who deals independently with unresolved complaints from consumers about their individual dealings with all financial service providers. It is a free service to the complainant. Broader issues of consumer protection are the responsibility of the Irish Financial Regulator. The current Ombudsman is Joe Meade.
The Equality Authority - http://www.equality.ie
The Equality Authority is an independent body set up under the Employment Equality Act 1998. This Act and the Equal Status Act, 2000 outlaw discrimination in employment, vocational training, advertising, collective agreements, the provision of goods and services and other opportunities to which the public generally have access on nine distinct grounds: gender, marital status, family status, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, religious belief and membership of the Traveller Community. The Equality Authority provides information to the public on equality rights, holds a library of relevant materials and provides legal advice (and in certain cases, representation).
Office for Social Inclusion - http://www.socialinclusion.ie
The OSI has overall responsibility for developing, co-ordinating and driving the National Action Plan Against Poverty and Social Exclusion (NAP/Inclusion). This plan incorporates the National Anti-Poverty Strategy and the social inclusion commitments contained in the Sustaining Progress agreement. The OSI monitors and evaluates the strategy and develops support functions to underpin the process. It also carries out poverty-proofing and research.
The Courts Service - http://www.courts.ie
The Courts Service was established to manage the courts, support the judiciary and provide a high-quality and professional service to all users of the courts.The site features the courts legal diaries, lists of judges and sittings, caselaw, court forms, lists of offices and maps, practice directions, rules and fees, information on jury service and the online application process for the Small Claims Court.
National Consumer Agency - http://www.consumerconnect.ie
NCA was established in response to a recommendation of the Consumer Strategy Group Report. It incorporates the work of the Office of the Director for Consumer Affairs, which was responsible for providing advice and information to consumers on their statutory rights, on the regulation of credit intermediaries, on the licensing of pawnbrokers and on the enforcement of a wide range of consumer protection legislation. Members of the public may contact the NCA about false or misleading claims about goods, services and prices and it will investigate the matter. It has a corporate website but more information on consumer rights and responsibilities - as well as popular scams and pitfalls - is available on the consumer website. It operates a helpline at 1890 432432.
Irish Government - http://www.irlgov.ie
The official site of the Irish government which links to all government departments and organisations. It provides general information about Ireland, indices of recent publications and a search engine that searches all government sites. Contains links to Iris Oifigiul (the official means used by the Government for announcing appointments to public offices and publishing proclamations, statutory instruments, appointment of receivers to companies, etc), the National Development Plan and enacted government legislation.
Oireachtas na hEireann - Irish Parliament - http://www.oireachtas.ie
Website of the Irish upper (Seanad) and lower (Dail) Houses of Parliament. Contains links to schedue of business, parliamentary debates and Irish legislation (in the Irish statute book). Also has information on the history of the Irish legislature and live web feed during parliamentary session.
The Ombudsman - http://ombudsman.gov.ie
The Ombudsman has the power to examine complaints about the administrative actions of government departments, the Health Service Executive, local authorities and An Post.The current Ombudsman is Emily O'Reilly. She can demand any information, document or file from a public body about which a complaint has been made and can require any official to give information about a complaint. In most instances, the Ombudsman's recommendations are complied with, but if the public body concerned fails to act on her recommendations, she may present a special report to the Houses of the Oireachtas on the matter.
Financial Regulator - http://www.ifsra.ie
Part of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the Financial Regulator is responsible for the regulation of all financial services firms in Ireland and as such is particularly important for protecting consumers' rights. This site also links to the Financial Regulator's consumer information site which provides independent information on financial products in plain English.
National Disability Authority - http://www.nda.ie
The National Disability Authority (NDA) is an independent statutory agency which, on behalf of the State, promotes and helps secure the rights and entitlements of people with disabilities. It acts as a national body to assist in the coordination and development of disability policy; undertakes research and develops statistical information for the planning, delivery and monitoring of programmes and services for people with disabilities; it advises the Minister on standards for programmes and services and prepare codes of practice; it monitors the implementation of standards and codes of practice; and it takes the lead in both encouraging and recognising the promotion of equality of people with disabilities.
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission - http://www.gardaombudsman.ie/
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission's mission is to provide the public with an independent and effective oversight of policing, and to deal with the public's complaints concerning Gardaí fairly and efficiently so that everyone can have confidence in the complaints system. It will directly and independently investigate complaints against members of the Garda Síochána; investigate any matter, even where no complaint has been made, where it appears that a Garda may have committed an offence or behaved in a way that would justify disciplinary proceedings; investigate any practice, policy or procedure of the Garda Síochána with a view to reducing the incidence of related complaints. The current Ombudsman Commission is composed of the Hon Mr Justice Kevin Haugh, Ms Carmel Foley and Mr Conor Brady.
Combat Poverty Agency - http://www.cpa.ie
Note: As of Budget 2009, Combat Poverty has been subsumed into the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Combat Poverty is dedicated to advising on ways to prevent and eliminate poverty and social exclusion. It realises its aims through the four general functions set out in the Combat Poverty Agency Act 1986: policy advice, project support and innovation, research and public education.
Legal Aid Board - http://www.legalaidboard.ie
The Legal Aid Board provides legal aid and advice in civil cases to persons who satisfy the requirements of the Civil Legal Aid Act,1995. In other words, their means must be below a certain limit and their case must have merit, i.e. there must be a solid basis for the case to go ahead. The Board makes the service of solicitors and, if necessary, barristers available to persons of moderate means at little cost. The service includes anything from writing a letter to representation in court proceedings. Some areas of law are excluded, including most work at tribunals.