Complaints and Redress Procedures

Officials responsible for the Plan:

The Department and each of the public bodies under its aegis will be required to appoint a senior official with specific responsibility for disability matters. The appointee in each case will be responsible for delivering on the commitments contained in the Sectoral Plan in respect of the body concerned and for reporting to, and liasing with, the Department in relation to all disability matters.

Complaints and Redress Structures

The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources will ensure that each of the Regulatory Bodies which carry out functions in relation to the sectors covered by this Plan, and each of the Marine Bodies referred to in section 6 of this Plan, will have in place by 31 December 2006 adequate procedures and structures to deal with complaints of alleged non-compliance with the provisions of this Sectoral Plan.

All such procedures and structures, prepared in accordance with the above, shall be published by the Regulatory Bodies or Marine Bodies, as appropriate, and shall include the following:

• procedures for the making and investigation of complaints and such other matters relating to complaints as are considered appropriate,
• the name and contact details for the person(s) within the Regulatory Body or Marine Body, to whom complaints may be addressed. A person, or persons, so nominated shall be:
¨ referred to as "complaints officers" responsible for the conduct of investigations in accordance with the above-mentioned procedures, and independent in the performance of his or her functions

When drawing up procedures in accordance with the above, Regulatory Bodies and Marine Bodies shall have regard to the following Ombudsman publication (available at http://www.ombudsman.ie):

The Ombudsman's Guide to Internal Complaints

Systems Procedures and structures, prepared in accordance with the above, shall be submitted to the Minister as soon as may be but in any case not later than 31st December 2006 and shall have effect once they have been approved by the Minister.

A person may make a complaint to the Ombudsman in relation to a decision of a complaints officer in relation to this Sectoral Plan. Procedures prepared in accordance with 1.2(a) above shall make provision for informing all complainants of this right.

The decision in each complaint will be notified by the complaints officer to the appropriate person (within the Regulatory Body or Marine Body) with responsibility for accessibility matters who will be required to consider the matter(s) complained of and, where appropriate, will bring forward proposals to ensure compliance with the complaint officers decision, having regard to the following Ombudsman publication (available at http://www.ombudsman.ie):

The Ombudsman's Guide to the provision of redress

Each Regulatory Body or Marine Body that carries out a complaints investigation function under this Plan will be required to report to the Minister annually in relation to complaints concerning alleged non-compliance with the provisions of this Plan, and the changes brought forward, or proposed, to ensure improved access to the services covered by this Plan.

Each Regulatory Body or Marine Body that is required by statute to prepare and/or publish an annual report will be required to provide a yearly progress report on the implementation of the Sectoral Plan in each of their annual reports.