Complain about the department

If you’re unhappy with a service provided by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Skills, here’s what you can do to try and set it right.

Complain locally

First, please let the person you’re dealing with know about your issue. If you prefer, please ask to speak to a manager. Both of them will try to help you. We try to solve all problems at a local level, where possible.

Complain to customer service

If you’re still unhappy and want to make a complaint, you can contact Customer Services by email, phone or post.

How to complain

You can make a verbal complaint or a written one. We’ll make a written record of a verbal complaint.

To speed up our investigation of your complaint, please tell us:

• your name, address and telephone number
• the full details of your complaint
• the name of the officials or sections who dealt with you
• what you have already done to try to solve your issue at a local level

If you have a complicated complaint, it might be best to put it in writing. That way, you won't miss any important details.

Remember to send us copies of all relevant documents, letters or emails you may have.

If you have special needs that may affect your ability to make a complaint, please let us know as soon as possible. We’ll do everything we can to help you.

Our complaints process

Customer Services will arrange for the head of the relevant section to investigate your complaint. The section head might choose another official to look at your complaint.

We’ll answer your complaint within 20 working days of getting it. If we cannot answer within this time, we’ll let you know. We’ll keep you updated on when we expect to answer.

When we investigate and answer your complaint, we’ll:

• treat your complaint fairly and without bias
• continue to provide you with all our services, regardless of your complaint
• recognise any mistake we made
• explain what happened
• put it right, wherever possible

If you’re unhappy with our answer to your complaint, you can appeal to the Office of the Ombudsman, or the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. You'll find the contact details for the ombudsman offices at the bottom of this page.

Our Customer Charter sets out the standard of service you can expect from our staff.

We don’t look at complaints about:

• a routine first‐time request for a service
• issues that are going through legal action
• a school, education and training board, or other education institute or agency – please contact the agency with your issue
• a freedom of information or data protection request
• a decision by another government department or body
• changes to the law made by the Oireachteas
• a request for information, or an explanation of policy or practice
• reopening a closed complaint, or looking at a complaint again
• an issue where we already gave you our final decision – if you’re still unhappy, you can appeal to the Ombudsman or the Ombudsman for Children

If you’re unhappy with a decision by the department, and there’s an appeals process available, you can appeal it.

You can appeal decisions about:

• how we provided a service to you
• your entitlement to a service
• activities that the department regulates

There’s an appeals process available for student grant decisions.

If there’s no appeals process available, or if you appeal and are unhappy with the result, you can complain to the Office of the Ombudsman, or the Ombudsman for Children.

Office of the Ombudsman

The Office of the Ombudsman is fair, independent, and free to use.

The Ombudsman will ask you for details of your complaint and for a copy of our final response to your complaint. The best way to contact the Ombudsman is by:

• going to the complaint page on the Ombudsman’s website
• writing to Office of the Ombudsman, 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773
• phoning 01 636 5600, if you have any questions, or if you need help making your complaint

Ombudsman for Children

You can also complain to the Ombudsman for Children, if the complaint is about a service provided to a child. You can contact the Ombudsman for Children by:

• going to the complaint page on the Ombudsman’s website
• emailing oco@oco.ie
• writing to Office of the Ombudsman for Children, Millennium House, 52-56 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1
• phoning (01) 865 6800 or freephone 1800 20 20 40