Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The joint committee is now in public session and we will record our decisions. The first petition for reconsideration today is Petition No. P00027/13 from Mr. Damon Matthew Wise, national secretary-CEO (voluntary) of the National Board, directors, shadow directors and executive committee. It was submitted by a corporate body. The petitioner is seeking to raise proposals to allow for legislative consultation and statutory powers to be afforded to the newly founded National Disability Council of Ireland when new legislation is being prepared which will have an impact on people with disabilities.

The secretariat made contact with the petitioner in the first instance seeking clarification on the issues he wished to have addressed by the joint committee, as this was unclear from the information provided within the petition. The petitioner was contacted by phone initially where the secretariat discussed what the petitioner was seeking to achieve and following that discussion he agreed that he would gather further information and come back to the secretariat with clarification. Despite further contact by letter and by telephone, no information has been received. The decision of our committee is to deem the petition inadmissible as no previous action has been taken. However, under the committee, we may wish to refer the issues. It is proposed that the petition be closed because we have not received the document but the petitioner has the right to submit the relevant documentation at a future date if he wishes to do so. That is agreed.

Petition No. P0005/14 is from Mr. James John Collins on the treatment of prisoners in Irish prisons. Our committee has deliberated on this and we deem the petition inadmissible under Standing Order 165C(1)(g) which refers to a petition that "is frivolous, vexatious or otherwise constitutes an abuse of the petitions system".

We have agreed that. The matter is closed.

Petition No. P0006/14 is from Ms Christine O'Brien. The petitioner is seeking an examination of the conduct of the Child and Family Agency, formerly the HSE, in terms of allegedly unqualified subcontractors and director of advocacy services. This is an individual case between a mother and the HSE in relation to the complaints process after the welfare of her children came into question. The petitioner is questioning the qualifications of the staff working on her case, the procedures and protocols followed by the HSE, and she is also making claims of false reports being produced by HSE staff.

As this is an individual case between the HSE and the petitioner, Standing Orders do not allow us to deal with the matter. However, it is proposed that we write to the Ombudsman advising the office of the advice we have given to the petitioner. The Ombudsman might wish to examine the case. Therefore, we must deem the petition to be inadmissible. However, the secretariat notes that this week the report on the Review of Adequacy for HSE Children and Family Services 2012 was laid in the Library. Given that there are 113 pages in the review, it was agreed that the clerk would prepare a briefing for the members with a view towards examining whether there may be a public oversight issue within this area.