The Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, has added her voice to complaints about local authorities failing to enforce the planning laws.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Ms O’Reilly said there was a reluctance by local authorities to go to court to prevent small infringements becoming major problems.
The Ombudsman also said many people caring for their grandchildren, whose parents were chronic drug addicts, were unable to avail of the Foster Care allowance.
This was because the children had not been placed in care by a health board. Ms O’Reilly said she had referred the matter to the Government.
Earlier, Ms O’Reilly launched her first annual report since she took office.
Over 2,000 complaints processed
A total of 12,600 people contacted the Ombudsman's office last year. Of these, 2,213 valid complaints were processed.
45% of the complaints related to civil service departments and offices, 33% involved local authorities, 16% to health boards while 4% related to An Post.
