Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Tyndall for attending. The casebook is very welcome and gives a very good oversight of the work being done and will be very useful in future.

I wish to update Mr. Tyndall on our work on direct provision. We will have a number of hearings on that issue about extending the remit of the Ombudsman and I hope they will have it sooner rather than later. It is something we have been pushing for quite a while here. The prisons and the other sectors Mr. Tyndall mentioned should be looked at after that.

I have a question in regard to Irish Water, prisons and direct provision. Obviously the Office of the Ombudsman keeps a log of all the complaints it gets. However, does it keep a log of the ones it must turn down because they do not come under its jurisdiction and do particular themes occur there? For example, are there X number of complaints about direct provision where the Office of the Ombudsman has had to write back to people stating, "We note your complaint, but we cannot deal with it because it does not come under our remit." Is there any indication as to how many were received, etc.? The same would apply to Irish Water and the prison system. If that information was available, it might be useful.

The issue of clinical judgment was highlighted on a recent "Prime Time" special programme. I am subject to correction on this. It was about a young child, Ava Conroy, from Connemara. I think it related to the Medical Council. It was the timing of an issue and the way it was being dealt with prior to a court case being heard. That highlighted the issue of clinical judgment Mr. Tyndall mentioned.

The question also arises of these professional organisations adjudicating on themselves. I have heard of cases involving the Law Society adjudicating on its own members and complaints about the way matters were handled. That is another area in which an Ombudsman might play a role. In respect of the Medical Council it was felt, rightly or wrongly, that medical professionals were adjudicating on themselves and closing ranks when they did not want cases to proceed. That was highlighted in the "Prime Time" programme.

In respect of private institutions, Mr. Tyndall referred to nursing homes in particular. Is there any access to his office for people who want to complain about a nursing home? A number of cases have arisen involving difficulties with private nursing homes. HIQA plays a clinical role in this regard but does any of the ombudsman offices have remit over complaints brought by individuals or citizens?

Mr. Tyndall suggested that permission to comply be sought. In his view, how exactly should that change? I recognise that as Ombudsman he does not want to come in here to say that the Government needs to give him more resources but are there particular areas in which he feels constrained due to a lack of resources and, if he had more resources, where would he invest them?

I commend him on the office's outreach efforts. I have referred people to the outreach service when it came to Galway and they have enjoyed good engagement with the office. Does he have any thought on how outreach could be further developed? In regard to this committee and the fact that we hear petitions, does he see any crossover between our respective roles and is there anything we need to clarify in the way we do our work so that there is no grey area in what we are trying to do and that the individuals seeking redress are put first? I do not want them to be required to go to the Ombudsman and then to this committee, or sent from Billy to Jack, which is what people fear might happen.