Ms Moira Leydon:

Deputy Daly is obviously very passionate about this but I feel there is a misplaced focus. Like my colleague, Ms McElduff, I read the Bill and interpreted it as an appeals mechanism dealing with complaints, whereas the other legislation is about culture change plus the changing of section 28 of the Education Act to deal better with complaints. I am also concerned about the broad remit the Deputy is attributing to a potential ombudsman for education.

As legislators, the members need to be very clear about their role. Legislators have roles, as do civil servants. Industrial relations mechanisms have a role in dealing with teachers who are being treated badly and so on. We have established structures to deal with issues that arise in the course of employment, public management and education. We believe that the Office of the Ombudsman for Children should have an extended remit and should be better supported to deal with these problems.

I compliment Senator Ruane. The last time I met her we were at a lecture in the Royal Irish Academy where she spoke very passionately about the invisibility of disadvantage and the way the disadvantaged are not listened to. I would make the point that children are people. Their needs should not be dealt with on a segregated basis. They should not be told, "This is your education bit but the fact that the HSE has not delivered on your special needs supports is dealt with by another office." The nature of the office that is proposed in the Bill, which is all we have to go on, would end up being very short-sighted because its remit would not cover the entire needs of the child as he or she grows and progresses. For those reasons, we would be concerned about whether the Deputy's Bill will achieve what he would like it to achieve, and whether there are other mechanisms in place which would do so.