Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

This is a proposal for dealing with the report from the Ombudsman regarding the complaint he received on the Lost at Sea scheme. The arrangements proposed by the Government on this issue are for statements to be made in the House today. That is fine as far as it goes, and I am glad the issue is to be discussed in the House. However, we have to decide how we will deal with this report. The core issue is ensuring that the independence of the Office of the Ombudsman is fully respected. This is the second time in the history of the office that a recommendation from the Ombudsman was rejected by a Department. On the previous occasion - a recommendation in 2002 concerning the Revenue Commissioners - it was referred to an Oireachtas committee and was eventually resolved. The arrangement proposed for today is that the House will have statements on the issue.

When the Ombudsman carries out an investigation and issues a report that is rejected by a Department, the recourse the Ombudsman has is to make a report on that to the Oireachtas, and it is then a matter for the Oireachtas to deal with it. Will the Government agree to have this matter considered by an Oireachtas committee, as was the case in 2002? I would like to hear the Tánaiste's opinion on it now, but I would also like to hear it during the statements today. It is not appropriate that this is dealt with by statements after which the House moves on. The House must make a decision. In cases where a recommendation is rejected, the Ombudsman states:

My only option when this arises is to seek the intervention of the Oireachtas. It now has the task of deciding who is right and who is wrong in the context of good administration and fairness to the complainant.

The Oireachtas must exercise its function in that regard. That should be done in a non-partisan way, which is why I suggest the best way of dealing with this is to refer it to an Oireachtas committee, as was done before.

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