A backlog of almost 3,500 complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman has built up as a result of the economic crisis here over the past two years.
Ombudsman Bill Prasifka told RTÉ's Prime Time that while the backlog is not getting any bigger, his office had been equipped to deal with 'pre-crisis' levels of complaints.
The Financial Services Ombudsman deals with members of the public who feel they have been treated unfairly by financial institutions. His office has seen a significant increase in cases since the beginning of the economic crisis.
In the first six months of this year alone, it received 3,600 complaints. Mr Prasifka said that the level of complaints were at record highs.
He said that while many investment products simply did not perform, there were also cases in which people had been sold products that were unsuitable for them.
The Ombudsman said his office had been staffed to deal a 'pre-crisis' situation and that his budget had not been increased. He said it would aim to do more with less.
