Mediators’ Institute welcomes evidence of growing use of mediation

The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland (MII) has welcomed figures showing that the vast majority of complaints to the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO) last year were resolved through mediation.

Of the 3,867 complaints closed in 2017, a total of 2,370 – more than 60 per cent – were closed using mediation through the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS).

Sabine Walsh, president of the MII, said: “As mediation is becoming increasingly recognised as a speedy, efficient, confidential and cost-effective process, which offers disputant parties the opportunity to determine the best outcome for them, it is good to see more statistics that demonstrate how successful mediation is proving to be.”

She said the FSO figures show “how efficient mediation can be for the disputants and for state agencies involved in managing complaints”.

Ms Walsh added: “Given the increasing use of mediation by the State and State Agencies, and now that the Mediation Act has come into force on January 1st last, mediation is becoming ever more widely available and those who choose to use it are likely to achieve better and speedier resolutions, at a lower cost.”