Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ar dtús báire, déanaim comghairdeas le Ms O'Reilly as ucht an post nua. Céim íontach í di agus don tír. The Ombudsman has set the bar quite high for the next fear an phobail, which is the title the late Michael Mills gave the position, which is an appropriate term. A people's champion is what the Ombudsman is meant to be.

I note from Ms O'Reilly's presentation the support she has for the remit to be extended to areas and I support the call for areas such as justice, immigration, prisons and the naturalisation process to be brought under the remit, and one hopes progress can be made on that in future.

I had intended to raise an issue which, interestingly, the Ombudsman raised, that of the outstanding recommendation in the case of the Byrne family in County Donegal. She probably would not want to rehash it here but I hope this committee will address it because what happened in that case was wrong and it needs to be examined and put right. That issue was raised when this committee was set up by a Labour Party Deputy who is originally from County Donegal but is now in my constituency. Addressing this is part of our work programme and at some stage we will get to it. It is to be hoped we will be able to deliver on the recommendation made by the Ombudsman many years ago.

Ms O'Reilly referred to the provision of additional resources. The more work that is passed on to the Ombudsman's office and the Freedom of Information Commissioner, the longer the delays there will be in dealing with cases unless the necessary resources are put in place in that office. What is the extent of the delay in dealing with complaints made to the Ombudsman or how long, on average, does it take to process them? I accept that will vary depending on the nature of the complaints. What additional resources in terms of staff and equipment are required for the Ombudsman's office to function at a reasonable level?

Regarding hostility shown by some Departments to investigations or questions from the Ombudsman's office, the HSE and the Department of Health seem to be hostile in that respect. How do we start to overcome that culture of secrecy or closed shop that still abounds in some Departments? Is there something we as a committee or as legislators can highlight to ensure clarity is brought to those Departments and that they fully understand that they must comply with the Ombudsman's requests?