The new Financial Services Ombudsman says the number of complaints his office received last year rose by 28% to 7,619 as a result of the financial crisis.
Bill Prasifka said that 4,668 complaints were made against the insurance sector and 2,951 complaints against financial institutions.
The office's annual report reveals that over 17,000 telephone calls were received while over 200,000 visits were made to the office's website during the year.
Read the full report for 2009 here
The Ombudsman said that he estimates that 'conservatively' over €60m has been made good to consumers as a result of the office's work since 2005.
He noted that because of the economic downturn, some firms are unable to pay awards made by the Ombudsman.
The Office is funded by statutory levies on Financial Service Providers and its running costs for last year came to over €5m. Today's report says that collection of the levies was satisfactory and that running costs were kept under very tight control.
'The years ahead will continue to be challenging. Complaints will be likely to continue to increase. The continuing financial and economic crisis will place increased demands on the Office,' commented Financial Services Ombudsman Bill Prasifka
'It is heartening to note that the funding for the office for 2010 is satisfactory even when the levy to be paid has been reduced by 10%. I aim to build on the achievements to date and ensure that an efficient and effective service is provided to everybody,' he added.
