Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thank you very much, Chairman. I ask Deputy Higgins to drop me a text before I speak in future so that I do not walk myself into trouble. The problem we have here is that Deputy Buckley on one side, and Deputies Higgins and Devlin on the other side, are all making perfect sense. What I would say about the Committee on Public Petitions is that it should be the last chance saloon for everything. If people have been through the system and the system has let them down, if they have tried everything possible to put something to rights but to no avail, then this committee is for them. This committee is the last chance saloon where people can come and put their case on the public record. They may not get the support of the committee at the end of it, but we should defend to the death the right of any citizen to come here with a case. I understand the urgency of the case that Deputy Buckley is concerned about and that conflicts me slightly vis-à-visthe statement I just made.

If it is possible to hold a joint meeting with the Joint Committee on Health, we should do that. However, if there is still scope for the health committee to do something here, then I would side with Deputies Higgins and Devlin and say we should get that committee on the game but if it is not up to the game within a short space of time, then we will take it over.