Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think "anomaly" is a misnomer. In my view it is far more fundamental than merely being anomalous. I agree with the suggestion of inviting the Minister and her officials to attend the committee. This may well be a policy decision. The Minister or her officials may have decided to deliberately exclude persons from the scheme. Therefore, it may not be an anomaly. We could be in danger of straying into the area of policy. I would like to have a briefing in that regard. I have great sympathy for the petitioner and it makes perfect sense but we could be dealing with policy issues rather than with anomalies.