The role of an Ombudsman’s Office stretches beyond a consideration of the legality of public service providers into a consideration as to whether their actions are just, and whether they are fair. Securing equality of opportunity and respect for human rights is at the heart of our work.
We want to make sure that our service is accessible to all, and not just those who are well placed to reach us. Where we identify that any group is not properly represented amongst our service users, we will look to target our outreach activity, and, where necessary, use our own-initiative powers to ensure that their concerns are investigated and addressed. People who are discriminated against or whose human rights are under threat are often least able to access those agencies charged with overseeing public services. We accept that it is our role to help to redress the imbalance of power which they experience.
We are committed to providing a service to all clients that respects their human rights and their right to equal treatment. This is equally applicable to how we interact with our own staff as it is essential in fostering a healthy work environment that promotes engagement, openness and dignity in the work place. Our approach is underlined by our core organisational values of independence, customer focus and fairness, which are evident in both the culture of our Office and our internal policies and practices. We have been proactive in providing training to our staff, which encourages them to bring a human rights perspective to their consideration of cases and requires them to treat breaches of human rights by public service providers as maladministration.
As set out earlier, the Ombudsman investigates complaints under the Disability Act, 2005 and we encourage caseworkers to adopt a rights-based approach when considering complaints and to be alert to any discrimination. To ensure that they are familiar with their responsibilities to customers and to each other, training in Disability and Diversity Awareness is provided to our staff.
Equality monitoring and reporting will be introduced as part of our new core IT systems. We will ensure that the people using our services are representative of the diversity of our communities and will monitor the outcomes of our work so that we are aware of any inadvertent bias.
Over the past number of years we made accessibility a priority for visitors and staff alike. We have carried out various works in our offices in this respect to assist people with mobility issues. Induction loops were installed in public areas and portable loops are also available onsite and at our outreach visits to assist people with hearing difficulties. Material for the public is provided in a variety of formats and languages to ensure that it meets the requirements of all users and potential users of our services. The Office has also participated in the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) programme for a number of years, the aim of which is to promote access to the labour market for graduates with disabilities and build the capacity of employers to integrate disability into the mainstream workplace.
We will continue to seek a comprehensive jurisdiction to enable us to consider complaints from areas where human rights may be abused including prisons and the asylum and immigration process, especially in respect of Direct Provision.
We want our Office to be at the forefront of human rights and equalities issues and will strive at all times take practical and effective steps to move this agenda forward.
