James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I support my colleague, Deputy O'Sullivan, in this regard. It is eminently reasonable, if Members will pardon the pun, to insert this word. There has been a sense that attempts have been made in the past by various arms of the State to frustrate people in their rights by creating additional hurdles for them to jump through. Clearly this would be a classic case, particularly as one is dealing with a vulnerable group. One can imagine an elderly man trying to process such information for his unwell sister or vice versa. This group is vulnerable and people should not seek unreasonable amounts of information. There ought to be a limit and someone must arbitrate as to what is reasonable in this regard, in order that applicants at least have some rights and do not end up being completely frustrated as do many people, who give up after three or four attempts to deal with State machinery and who do not receive their entitlements. Consequently, I support this amendment.

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