The terms of reference of the Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland should be extended immediately, according to Mr Eddie Hobbs, finance spokesman of the Consumers' Association of Ireland (CAI).

He said that existing terms did not cover 70 per cent of pension and life sales, while the outgoing office holder, Ms Paulyn Marrinan Quinn, had highlighted difficulties she had encountered during her tenure. Ms Quinn will be succeeded in September by the CAI chief executive, Ms Caroline Gill, who was described by Mr Hobbs as enormously talented. But, he added, without change, the office itself would remain compromised.