Sinn Féin have progressed this Bill in the interests of a large body of consumers that have been excluded from accessing the services of the Financial Ombudsman.
We know there are thousands of people who were barred from the Financial Services process, due to a six-year exclusion rule.“Sinn Féin has no difficulty in highlighting and challenging wrongdoing by financial institutions, but we are also keenly aware of the need to provide workable solutions in the interest of the consumer and the financial services.
When this Sinn Féin Bill passes they will be free to re-apply in the knowledge that the 6-year rule will no longer be an automatic bar on their access to justice.
This Bill will hopefully aid many of those who find themselves debarred from seeking redress. We also see this as the start of a change of culture in how disputes between financial institutions are dealt with.
Also contained within the Bill are provisions for greater transparency regarding the findings of the ombudsman as well as greater use of mediation.
I and my Sinn Féin colleagues hope that the Bill can swiftly pass the final necessary stages in the Oireachtas and will be made into law very soon.
