Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Given we do not really know very much about the system as it stands, that in itself is not open and transparent and not in the taxpayers’ interest. That clearly has to change. Obviously, there are concerns about delays. Canada, Australia and the UK have moved towards public hearings. However, the bottom line here is that Ireland is a very small country. We have to bear that in mind when we are talking about openness and transparency in public hearings.

Much can be done to improve this process. Is the delegation happy that anything that can be done to expedite the process is contained in the heads of the Bill as they stand? Given we do not know the value of claims, is there merit, as has been proposed by others, in more informal small claims court style set-up where the financial value of an appeal is less than a certain amount?