Speech to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Office of the Ombudsman
Áras an Uachtaráin, 8th September 2014
Tá fáilte romhaibh go léir anseo inniu in Áras an Uachtaráin chun Oifig an Ombudsman, a bunaíodh tríocha bliain cothrom an lae seo, a chomóradh agus a cheiliúradh. Is ócáid shuntasach í seo, go deimhin, agus ócáid a thugann deis dúinn smaoineamh ar an gcion tairbhe an-mhór atá déanta ag an Oifig sin i gcruthú sochaí córa agus cothroime anseo in Éirinn agus aitheantas a thabhairt dó.
(You are all very welcome here today to Áras an Uachtaráin to mark and celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Office of the Ombudsman. This is indeed a significant occasion, and one which allows us to reflect on and acknowledge the enormous contribution that the Office has made to the creation of a more just society here in Ireland.)
I am delighted that Northern Ireland Ombudsman Tom Frawley has been able to join us here today. I am also pleased to welcome our current Ombudsman Peter Tyndall and of course the members of staff of the Office of the Ombudsman. I am also happy to welcome today Justice Daniel O’Keeffe, chairperson of the Standards in Public Office Commission, and Jim O’Keeffe also a member of the Commission, and of course a former parliamentary colleague and friend of many years.
The establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman, in 1984, was a significant event in the development of Irish public administration and indeed in the development of our democracy. This establishment made a considerable contribution to the effective implementation of decisions of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The putting in place of an accessible and impartial grievance mechanism, one that was made available to all members of the public, acknowledged that at the heart of a commitment to participative citizenship must be a real will to ensure that all citizens are enabled to exercise their voice and to claim their rights and entitlements; that they must be empowered to enter into informed dialogue about decisions which affect their lives, and be allowed to defend themselves or to assert their opinion when they feel their rights are being violated or ignored.
During my many years as a legislator, it has often been a matter of deep frustration and occasional dismay that hard-won legislative achievements on the floors of the Dáil and Seanad Chambers faded away, were contradicted, or simply negated by administrative intransigence and a reluctance on the part of some to accept the expressed, and often nuanced, wisdom of the Parliamentary system.
In her John Hume lecture at the MacGill Summer School in 2013, Emily O’Reilly made reference to my own final speech in Dáil Éireann, where I reflected on the meaning of the concept of Republic. In her speech, Emily O’Reilly examined the relative functions and strengths of parliament, judiciary and executive in our contemporary democracy. As she quite rightly pointed out, parliament is at the heart of our democratic system ; but acting alone parliament cannot ensure citizenship, participation, equality and protection of individual rights. While important questions of the relationship between these three primary institutions remain pressing today, we must also recognise the limitations of the traditional doctrine of separation of powers when applied in the context of complex contemporary administrative systems.
Citizens’ relation with government is at its best when rule making and its consequences are embedded in an ethical context. A version of economics which is founded on speculation and the satisfying of insatiable wants while ignoring basic needs, such as housing needs, for example, makes such an ethical context difficult to achieve.
The challenge of our times is to be able to summon up the critical capacity that might create an ethical context to all of our actions as citizens and actors within the net of the administrative system.
When engaging with government in its modern form, we know that many of our citizens, in particular our most vulnerable, can sometimes feel that they have entered an atmosphere of irrationality in the name of rules – what Max Weber described as a ‘polar night of icy darkness’, a dehumanised landscape where citizens, and administrators, may feel trapped by a routinised version of procedures whose initial intention has been forgotten. Citizens may thus perceive that their rights are secondary to a need for official and administrative efficiency and to rules and criteria that are too difficult to comprehend. The debate as to the distinction between effectiveness and efficiency is only beginning.
As Weber characterised it, bureaucratic authority is hierarchical, bounded by rules, and oriented to the achievement of one or more identifiable goals, for example welfare provision, education or justice. But these overarching goals can become displaced from the everyday understanding and conduct of employees, which can, in turn, lead to a redefinition of the ways in which the overall goals are implemented, undermining them, or even delivering, in the name of a rationality reduced to calculability and ritual observance, what is irrational in essence.
Through its independent oversight of that bureaucratic system, the Office of the Ombudsman has, throughout its three decades in existence, effected some profound and positive transformations in the delivery of public services in Ireland. The achievements of the Office have been significant and its stated mission of promoting the principles of openness, fairness, accountability and effectiveness has played a major role in the reform and modernisation of our civil and public service.
Of course, today’s Ireland is, in many ways, a very different country from the one in which The Office of the Ombudsman was founded. We are society in which multi-culturalism, technological advances and the need to operate in a global environment have introduced new and significant challenges. However, what has not changed is the constant need to achieve fair and equitable implementation of changes in social and economic policy regimes and the need to avoid unfair and arbitrary administration.
The Ombudsman’s Office has played a significant role in meeting those needs in our democratic infrastructure, working tirelessly to ensure that Irish public bodies demonstrate an accountable and fair approach to the determination of competing priorities on the part of the State. That is a contribution to Irish society of which the Office can be very proud indeed.
A prominent theme in public discourse during recent times has been an indiscriminate call to reduce the public sector, implying that the public sector is a problem to be resolved by diminution. Part of this attack on the public sector has involved a call for a “bonfire of quangos” – the use of pejorative language again betraying a wilful disregard for the essential function of oversight and accountability bodies in healthy democracies.
The Office of the Ombudsman, and the various other statutory accountability and oversight bodies, perform an essential function in ensuring that the protections of rights gained and prescribed in legislation are not frustrated by the administrative arm – the Ombudsman marshals the space between law and practice and in doing so it protects the true performance of democratic intent.
Since its establishment, the Office has been fortunate to be guided and led by three impressive Ombudsmen who have all brought their own unique talents and skills to the role, enabling the Office to continually evolve and adapt to the challenges of our ever changing society.
The late Michael Mills, our first Ombudsman, brought a strength and perspective to the role which allowed for the challenging and questioning of the modus operandi in many public bodies – bodies that were unaccustomed to the level of scrutiny this new Ombudsman demanded of them. His achievement in establishing the independence of the office, sometimes in the face of Government and institutional hostility, was immense and reflect the integrity and strong sense of justice which those of us who knew Michael remember as being amongst his defining characteristics.
His successor, the late Kevin Murphy, encapsulated all that is best about the public service ethos. His long and distinguished career enabled him to bring to the role an innate understanding of how the public sector operated. This, as well as a strong dedication to the identification and correction of systemic flaws, has left a unique and important legacy on the delivery of public services in Ireland.
Emily O’Reilly’s commitment, energy and passion for human rights considerably raised the impact and profile of the Office, including through her achievements in ensuring the extension of the Freedom of Information Act to many public bodies. Her dynamic vision and desire to push the boundaries has left a lasting impression on the Office, and as a country we were very proud indeed when Emily was selected for the prestigious role of European Ombudsman.
And, of course, last December I had the pleasure of appointing Peter Tyndall as our current Ombudsman. I have no doubt that Peter’s impressive experience and real desire to advance the position of the Office, including through the establishment of a centralised complaint handling process, will make its own significant and inspiring contribution to the history of the Office.
Mar fhocal scoir, ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghlacadh libh go léir as teacht anseo inniu agus, ar son mhuintir na hÉireann, aitheantas agus moladh a thabhairt daoibh as an obair den scoth atá déanta agaibh agus as an dúthracht atá á caitheamh agaibh leis na caighdeáin is airde agus is cothroime sa riaracháin phoiblí a bhaint amach sa tír seo.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you all for coming here today and, on behalf of the people of Ireland, to acknowledge and commend your excellent work and continued commitment to the achievement of the highest and fairest standards of public administration in this country.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go leir.