Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Department of Social Protection figure seems quite high, at 579 cases. Are there any trends regarding that Department? The Ombudsman delved into local authority cases and health complaints. I would be keen to understand whether there are particular trends.

My main question concerns special reports, that is, what happens after they are published and how that changes things in a system or organisation. The Ombudsman has given us two good examples of this, referrals when it comes to treatment abroad and assessments in nursing homes, which sounds bonkers. I commend the Ombudsman on being able to identify and resolve that issue. Are there other such examples? It would be good for the Ombudsman to be able to articulate the work he does in terms of that long-lasting impact or change.

I refer to the two-year anniversary of the publication of the report Wasted Lives, and the report the Ombudsman is going to do as a follow-on to that. I sit on the Committee on Disability Matters. We would gain valuable insight if the Ombudsman came before the committee after the publication of the report in order to understand it a little bit. I am not sure whether I should do so, but I would like to extend an invitation to the Ombudsman on behalf of the committee. I will speak to the Chair to see if we could extend an invitation to the Ombudsman to discuss that.

On the medical treatment report the Ombudsman is working on, I would like him to give us information on referrals, the cost of transport and the small things that can have a really big impact on the person filling out forms. It sounds really interesting. The more we can remove those small hurdles the better. It might be a good opportunity for the Ombudsman to come before the committee and explain the hurdles when the report is published. In the meantime, we are probably all aware of situations in our constituencies that we can put forward.

I refer to the complaints about the Department of Social Protection. What are the key trends? It is great to hear the Ombudsman talk about referrals and assessments in nursing homes. Are there any other examples which he and his team are really proud of?

In his last contribution the Ombudsman referred to discretion with regard to HAP. Did he mean the discretionary payment in respect of homeless HAP or to discretion around being able to approve somebody more quickly because he or she is in a homeless or particularly vulnerable situation? I would like some clarity on that. If it was the latter, I did not know that was the case and I am keen to understand more from the Ombudsman or local authorities about that.