Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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Yes. I would like to drill into our attempt to set up an independent monitoring body. Ms O'Connor spoke about ombudsmen. Will the witnesses elaborate on how they see that working? What would it need to look like to work effectively? I am conscious that, when we try to create an independent monitoring body, it is often cheapest, quickest or easiest, if not necessarily right, to use an existing body. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, is constantly being given new issues to monitor without necessarily the resources to do so. If we are to set up external accountability and make the Government and the agency answer effectively to an independent outsider for their decisions and the consequences of same, what will that look like? Are we talking about yet another agency? Would it be an NGO alliance? Will the witnesses give us more detail about how such a body would be effective, bearing in mind that other countries have done this?