Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I am proposing a means of dealing with this issue. I am proposing that people who do not meet the deadline should have some clear method of getting a decision in their favour. To provide for another officer really does not answer the question. It may not be the officer's fault — it may be that the psychiatrist would not produce the report, for example. It may be that the superintendent was operating to a deadline and decided not to make a decision because no evidence was available to him and he was in genuine doubt. In such circumstances, applicants are entitled to go to an impartial person and say they want a decision to be made.

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