John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I initiated a process in the past year to try to pull together the five TDs to push this solution on the Government, given that we have two senior Ministers in the county. Unfortunately, only Deputy Whitmore came back to me and none of the other three even acknowledged my attempt to pull together the five TDs. I sense the frustration. The issue is being kicked to touch and being kicked between the two Departments. I agree with the recommendations made by Senator Craughwell and what Mr. Gaffney has recommended. As a non-committee member, I suggest the committee writes directly to the Taoiseach and asks him to intervene directly on this issue because we cannot leave it to the Ministers who are passing it between each other. Perhaps the committee would consider writing to the Taoiseach asking him to take on the issue to cut through the nonsense and red tape and to seize this matter. This is not a case that will open a Pandora's box. It is a one-off case. The solution is there and it is up to the Government to seize the opportunity to end the nightmare for the Gaffney family. I ask the committee to consider writing directly to the Taoiseach and asking him to intervene to move this forward.