Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)

I have a broad question about the overall approach to public services. There has been strong criticism in social policy literature down the years that the Irish welfare state and its public services show charity values rather than taking a human rights approach and perspective. Many problems stem from that. The approach we take is not that citizens are entitled to public services as a human right. It is that people are coming to the State and almost annoying it with their problems. The State will decide whether or not it wants to offer a service depending on whether the funding is in place or not. People are coming forward, whether they are tenants in council housing, patients in public hospitals or people looking for welfare, but we still do not take a rights-based approach and human rights approach to delivery across our public services. Do the witnesses have a comment on that? Is there a need for, and how can we progress, a rights-based approach within our public services?