Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

Committee on Public Petitions

Promoting Awareness of the Public Petitions Process: Discussion

1:30 pm

Photo of Colette KelleherColette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting to explore trends. Ms Black has a bird's eye view from the perspective of citizens regarding how everything is going for them. She made interesting comments about the depth and complexity of the queries. It is not, therefore, just about the numbers. There are also trends relating to people's financial circumstances. The board has made good suggestions to the committee, particularly regarding the form. We will take that up to make that as easy a form as possible for people to complete. The secretariat might revert to Ms Black on that. She also made other suggestions, including a news story, a "Know Your Rights" column, leaflets, which are being updated, raising awareness with face-to-face information providers, outreach, and training seminars. We would love to examine all of those and Ms Black said she would come back to the committee. We would be open to that because we would like to raise the profile of this process to show that citizens can have their day and have an issue explored. The board has such a reach that working through it would enhance our coverage.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.