Mr. Peter Tyndall:

Senator Black raised a similar point to the Deputy's first question on unannounced visits. As I have said, where we have been told people are reluctant to speak to us we have started to make arrangements for them to speak to us off-site. I take the general point about unannounced visits and we will take it away and give it serious consideration. I accept the point made that on occasion, centre managers and others may make efforts to ensure what is presented when we are there is acceptable where it is not otherwise. There is no formal inspection role for centres. My role as Ombudsman has to do with complaints from residents of direct provision centres. As I have said, we have become the only independent body, along with the Ombudsman for Children, that visits centres and, therefore, as the committee has heard, we have dealt with systemic issues that have arisen, as well as issues in the individual complaints we receive.

What I spoke of specifically in referring to an extended role was different. I said there were two causes for people having an extended stay in centres. One is the lack of access to affordable housing, an issue that was touched on by committee members. The second is the length of time it takes to make decisions in the asylum process. Clearly, where somebody appeals a negative decision, it is a matter for the courts to decide. It could not be within my jurisdiction, but where the initial decision is made by the Department, there is no reason the administrative process should not fall within my remit, as does the administration of other aspects of Government services. It would enable me to bring attention to bear on the delays. As standards are being introduced with the rolling changes to contracts or new contracts, as was described, it will enable us to comment on all of the issues covered by the standards, some of which were covered by the Deputy. The direct provision centres are within my remit if there is a set of standards, as there is in many aspects of public life. We use standards as measures when we deal with complaints about facilities and as the basis of an own initiative investigation. The issues are generally ones that either fall within my remit or are affected by the particular restriction about which we spoke in the administration of the system. If centres do not comply with the requirement to provide play facilities where children are present, it is something with which we could deal.