Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 9, to delete lines 19 to 21 and substitute the following: “(5) The Chief Operating Officer may appoint suitably qualified staff as he or she may determine to the staff of the Office of the Chief Deciding Officer to assist in the performance of his or her duties.”.

The amendment seeks to ensure that suitably qualified professionals assist the chief deciding officer. The very least survivors deserve and the public expect is that the staff running this scheme would be qualified in trauma awareness and human rights. It has the additional benefit of addressing concerns of survivors who are sceptical of the scheme following their engagements of lack thereof with the Department. The appointment of someone with suitable credentials would be a sign of good faith, not to mention responsible use of public money. Unfortunately, a similar amendment seeking that the chief deciding officer would be similarly qualified has been ruled out of order. I can see no good reason to oppose this amendment. Unfortunately, it already looks clear the administration of the Birth Information and Tracing Act and the Institutional Burials Act are problematic with survivors treated poorly and not communicated or engaged with only in bureaucratic terms. As well as needing to address those issues, we need to learn from them and ensure that the scheme is run with survivors in mind from the start.

Is amendment No. 8 grouped with amendment No. 9?