Mr. Brian Molloy:

There should not be anything blocking a public representative making a request for an oral hearing. Ultimately, going back to the points made by Deputy Collins, there is a balance to be struck with the independence of the appeals officers' decision-making function. I understand from talking to Ms Gordon that there was no direction from her previously to the appeals officers about not holding oral hearings. The only time a direction was given, and it was referenced in the union letter, was in 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic when the officers were directed not to have in-person engagement with people because of the public health concerns. That was subsequently rescinded and we moved on from it. There has been no direction from my predecessor nor is there any direction from me. The decision is made by the appeals officer based on the merits of the case. As the Secretary General stated earlier, we are keeping an eye on it because there has been a substantial reduction in the number of oral hearings that are held.

As regards in-person versus online, in my previous role I was co-chair of the disability consultative forum. Some of the feedback from that was that it is great for some people to be able to access an online oral hearing. I note that the Senator is rolling his eyes but that is not me saying that we prefer oral hearings-----