Consumer chief to be insurance ombudsman

Leading consumer affairs advocate, Ms Caroline Gill has been appointed as the next Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland. Ms Gill, who is currently chief executive of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, will formally take over the position on September 1st. She will succeed Ms Paulyn Marrinan Quinn who has been at the centre of allegations that she was bullied out of office following years of pressure from the insurance industry.

Ms Marrinan Quinn announced earlier this year that she would step down in August after six years in office. She has since said that lack of funding and censorship, exacerbated by the decision to appoint a new member to her staff without her agreement, made her position untenable and led to her decision to resign. However, she offered to remain on as ombudsman for a further year in order to preserve the integrity of the office.

The Council of the Insurance Ombudsman Scheme and the insurance industry have denied Ms Marrinan Quinn's allegations and although the council paid tribute to Ms Marrinan Quinn for her service as the first holder of the office, it has effectively rejected her offer to stay on by appointing Ms Gill as her successor.

"Caroline's knowledge of consumer affairs and her proven courage in fighting for consumer rights make her a perfect choice for this position," Mr Ernest Margetson, chairman of the council, said.

Her appointment was welcomed by the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF), the Board of the Ombudsman Scheme and by the Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce, Mr Noel Treacy.

Mr Treacy also paid tribute to Ms Marrinan Quinn, saying it had been widely recognised that the Insurance Ombudsman Scheme had been "an outstanding success as a dispute resolution service".

However, Ms Marrinan Quinn said she was concerned that the serious issues she had raised in relation to the working of the office - including lack of funding and censorship - had yet to be resolved. These issues had been tabled for discussion at an executive committee meeting of the British and Irish Ombudsman Association next week, she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Bill McLaughlin, a former member of the council, has called on the present council and the board to resign following the recent controversy over the ombudsman's office.

"I write to invite them to resign en masse so that this critical service may continue unsullied," he said in a letter to The Irish Times.

Mr McLaughlin resigned from the seven-member council, set up to act as a buffer between the Insurance Ombudsman and the board - which is made up of insurance industry representatives - last February. At the time he said he was stepping down because of the pressure brought to bear on Ms Marrinan Quinn by the industry.