Inquiry Officer

The department has appointed an Inquiry Officer to investigate complaints made under section 38 of the Disability Act. Under the Act, all public bodies are obliged to ensure that full accessibility to their buildings and services are provided for people with disabilities.

You can make a complaint if you consider that we have failed to comply with the provisions of Sections 25 to 28 of the Disability Act, 2005.Our Inquiry Officer will carry out investigations in private and will produce a report which will state:

• if your complaint is valid
• whether there has been a failure by the department concerning your complaint
• and where a failure has happened, the report will outline the steps to be taken to ensure future compliance.

This report will be made available to the Secretary General of the department and to the person who makes the complaint.

To make a complaint under section 38 of the Disability Act please email: InquiryOfficer@welfare.ie

You can also send your complaint by post to:

A complaint under section 38 of the Disability Act 2005 should include the following information:

• name, address, contact telephone number and e-mail address (if available)
• whether you were looking for access to information, services or a public building or public place
• were you seeking access for yourself or on behalf of someone else?
• what section of the Department of Social Protection (DSP) did you contact?
• what were you looking for?
• how and why was the service, information, public place or building inaccessible to you or the person on whose behalf you have made a complaint?
• what was the response of the person(s) you were dealing with?
• were you referred to an Access Officer?
• did you lodge a complaint with the Local DSP Manager or the Manager of the Service prior to proceeding with the complaint under section 38 of the Disability Act?
• why are you dissatisfied with the response or commitments?
• is there any other action being taken in respect of the issue that is the subject of the complaint e.g. complaint to Workplace Relations Commission under Equal Status Act?

The Inquiry Officer will acknowledge receipt of your complaint as soon as possible, but no later than five working days after receipt. If an investigation is required, the Inquiry Officer will complete their report within 20 working days from the receipt of all required information, including additional information requested from the complainant. Where a full report is not available within 20 days, the Inquiry Officer will send you an interim reply and indicate when the report will be available.

If your complaint relates to any other issues please email CustomerServices@welfare.ie