Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

The Minister's response is utterly disingenuous. Would he not acknowledge the fact that justice has not been served for the Byrne family, who had no way of knowing the terms of the scheme and no way of benefiting by way of tonnage under the scheme for the reasons outlined by the Ombudsman? She found that the advertising process was utterly inadequate and the family had no way of benefiting from the scheme as a result. Would the Minister acknowledge that her decision to grant compensation was based on her acknowledgement of the wrong that was done and that there was no way the family could benefit from tonnage?

The Ombudsman found that some prospective applicants were put in a more advantageous position than others as they were written to by the Department and the Minister to inform them of the scheme when it was launched. The Minister must respond on this matter. Third, the very fact that the Ombudsman deemed it necessary to place the report before the House must be significant. The Government side of the House is disregarding and disrespecting the decision of the Ombudsman and the Minister must answer for that.

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