Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank both witnesses. There seems to be an issue of resources. Despite what Ms Dixon is saying, the issue is we have so many genuine complaints from people that their issues are not being dealt with, the DPC is taking a very long time to respond to people, and it is taking a very long time for any progress to be made. To say there is no issue with resources or whatever is not correct. Covid-19 may be having some impact on it. I do not know. Perhaps this year is different but it seems to be an issue that is ongoing from previous years. If the workload is increasing, that needs to be spelled out and Ms Dixon should say it is increasing. If, as she said, she has difficulty sometimes trying to recruit more people, that suggests either she expects the workload to increase or she has recognised there is a problem and she needs more staff to make the situation more efficient. All of us would support that.

We need to get these issues resolved because all the elected representatives here have come across various situations where members of the public have complained about the way they are being dealt with, particularly the length of time it is taking, and that they are not getting the kind of response they would have expected to get. There must be a level of acceptance that we need to be working together. If somebody says there is something wrong or points out a problem, it is not healthy to get defensive about it immediately because there is a problem. We can all see that and that needs to be recognised. That is my first point. I am not making it to be accusatory or difficult but it needs to be said.

The other issue is one that was very much in the headlines in recent months and concerned many people who were suffering major trauma. I refer to the issue of the mother and baby homes, how the records were going to be sealed and the issues around that. There was a need for clarity as to whether the sealing of records in those cases would have been a breach of legislation, especially EU legislation. I would like to get both witnesses' view on that. I will leave it at that as time is short.