Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh na hAirí. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil siad gnóthach agus is mór an onóir dúinn gur tháínig siad isteach leis an bhfoireann ar fad. To follow on from that discussion, would it be possible for the committee to get a breakdown of those Estimates the Minister has just announced? We have been going through things in some detail here and would welcome the actual breakdown and an indication of the criteria she used. In her contribution the Minister referred to the schemes being extended to the widest possible category of persons. Is that the worst case scenario, and has she examined other possible scenarios?

We had a number of Ministers before the committee on these issues relating to the Ombudsman, and they raise fundamental questions about the role of the Ombudsman vis-à-vis Departments. One of the questions raised with me regarding these sessions is whether there is a different law for Departments and ordinary citizens in that if I cannot pay my household charge and say it is due to economic circumstances, the full rigour of the law will be brought down upon me whereas if a Department says it cannot do this because it cannot afford to do it, it somehow gets flouted. The perception is that Departments take an àla carte approach to the Ombudsman's findings. That is unacceptable because the Ombudsman is independent. Their ruling is based on the law. The Minister's Department has been found to be in contravention of the Equal Status Act and that must be rectified.

Does the Minister have any detail on whether the Department has had to make settlements with any individuals who were unfairly treated because the Department was in breach of the Equal Status Act in this particular scenario? In terms of a worst case scenario, if more people took cases against the Department what would it cost the Department to cover the cost of compensation to those people who are not being given their rights under the Equal Status Act?