The Taoiseach today supported Minister for Health Mary Harney's assertion by that the ombudsman overstepped her mandate in her nursing home care report.
Emily O’Reilly’s report, which was laid before the Oireachtas yesterday, said successive governments had failed to meet a legal obligation to provide care to older people, potentially exposing taxpayers to billions of euro in compensation claims.
Ms Harney responded that the ombudsman had acted outside her mandate.
Brian Cowen told the Dáil today that the office of the ombudsman did not deal with legal matters before the courts.
The Department of Health had made it clear, from the outset of the investigation, having consulted as normal with the office of the Attorney General, that it could not accept that the issue came within the ambit of the 1980 Ombudsman’s Act, he added.
He said the Minister has fundamental concerns about the way the investigation was undertaken and the failure to follow fair procedures as well as the content, scope and language of the report.
“These issues will be considered carefully now that the final report has been published,’’ he added.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said the office of the ombudsman had been set up by the Dáil to provide an independent means of up investigating complaints by members of the public.
Mr Gilmore noted that the ombudsman had said she encountered unprecedented opposition and a lack of co-operation on the part of the Department of Health and the HSE on the issue.