Mr. Justice Alan Mahon:

It is my understanding that the Minister is in the process of setting up some type of inquiry into the Women of Honour allegations. I assume that will proceed. Obviously, I will not be on that inquiry. I am sure the inquiry, when set up, may well want to talk to me about the process I have in place and how I deal with complaints. Many of the Women of Honour allegations, which are obviously very serious, date back a number of years. I cannot see any basis on which my office would become involved in dealing with the historical cases. What needs to be looked at is whether in the future similar type claims could be referred to my office.

I have some reservations. As mentioned in my opening statement, I have some concern about the limited jurisdiction I have in terms of the categories of complaint that I can consider. For example, a complaint of sexual harassment would be one that is probably not covered by the provisions of the legislation that govern the work I do. That needs to be looked at. I have advised the Minister and the Department of my concern and I know that advice is the subject of consideration by the Minister at this time.