Ms Teresa Blake:

I thank the joint committee for receiving us so graciously. Senator O'Donovan hit the nail on the head in that ultimately all human rights are indivisible in nature. At the end of the day, the street cred and track record of human rights intervention in societies is all about economic and social rights, equality and delivery of them in a real way. It is about how people enjoy their family rights, their rights to education and access to all that to which they have entitlement. What must preoccupy all of the human rights organisations across Europe is how we are preserving these core human rights that have built our society to this level if we are not focusing forensically on the impact of our budgets and the decisions made in places like here and Europe on the actual lives of real people who look to us for street cred. There are many magnificent documents in terms of legislative norms on human rights but the people are entitled to look to us for our track record. We hope we will be able to bring something to bear at any and all processes, in this type of engagement and on any piece of legislation that might impact on the quality of living in an economic and social society like Ireland. At the end of the day, it is economic, social and cultural rights that open the gateway for the enjoyment of greater fulfilment.

I look forward to the idea of a roadshow, through which we will meet people on the ground. Too often, human rights is hijacked in ivory towers. There are numerous people in our society doing human rights work, many of whom do so voluntarily. We want to be able to relate to them. The independence of the organisation is a core value. It is an honour to have been appointed. We hope we will deliver.