Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I also thank Deputy Billy Kelleher for allowing me to lead off.

I thank each of the groupings that has come before us. I thank them for their detailed presentations on what I emphasise is a hugely important area. I have always regarded my role in public life as one of representation and advocacy. In that context, I empathise greatly with what has been shared by each of the delegates. I thank Ms Fitzgerald, in particular. I am not seeking to make a distinction between one group and the rest, but on the basis of my experience in my community the role played by the Citizens Information Board merits particular recognition.

I wish to ask Mr. Taylor about a point made at the end of page 2 of the presentation made by SAGE. I ask him to elaborate on the point that advocacy services funded from public sources "should be required to engage in formal structures of co-ordination and collaboration". How all-encompassing would this be? How does he envisage such a requirement being worked out? I concur absolutely with the emphasis placed on the point that advocacy services funded from public sources should be "required" to act in this way. That is critical. Of what would the component parts of the "formal structures of co-ordination and collaboration" be comprised? How wide would the net be cast?

A point made a little further on in Mr. Taylor's statement is almost like a natural addendum. He refers to the need for "an assessment of the desirability" of whether advocacy services should be all-encompassing. Should the same services advocate on behalf of people with disabilities, people in the later years of their lives and those represented by Inclusion Ireland? Does he believe we are looking at separate advocacy services or a single all-encompassing service? When he asks for "an assessment", does this suggest there is uncertainty from the point of view of SAGE about how progress should be made in this regard? Perhaps he might give us a little indication in that regard.

I would also like Mr. Taylor to elaborate on something interesting he said. I would welcome ongoing engagement between his organisation and the committee. He seemed to allude to such engagement in his concluding remarks when he referred to "the work of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children". I am neither challenging him nor teasing the matter out further. I want to know a little more about the vision he is presenting in the points he has shared with us.

I welcome Mr. Tyndall and wish him every success in his role and responsibilities. I think this is the first opportunity an Oireachtas committee has had to meet him in his new role. I found one aspect of his presentation very interesting. Last June I marked 30 years as an elected representative. Mr. Tyndall has said he has examined how public hospitals handle complaints. Having spent many of my 30 years in politics as a health spokesperson, I feel I could write a little book about that subject and it might not be complimentary. There used to be a common position in this regard which Ms Fitzgerald reflected to some extent. Mr. Connolly certainly did so.

I would like to make a link between something interesting that was said by Mr. Tyndall and Mr. Connolly's statement that "despite the investment in advocacy services in the voluntary sector certain things remain the same". Mr. Connolly was alluding to the fact that "there is currently no co-ordinating or oversight body for advocacy, there is no central funding stream as funding is only provided on an ad hocbasis, no public body has responsibility for developing standards or codes of practice and there are no national standards or codes of practice". As I was listening to him, I thought of something that could be added to the list. It is reflective of what has been said by others. There is no statutory obligation on hospital or other care setting management to accept the input of advocates, including elected representatives and the organisations represented here.