Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The voice of the lay person, the one who has direct experience of the service, is a valuable asset. This has been developing in the legal and medical areas for example, in the new medical practitioners Bill. One cannot underestimate what the direct voice of experience would bring to a board or authority. When the Government moves to establish bodies we should try to incorporate this as a general rule. It would be very valuable to have the personal experience of adoption heard. It has been ruled out of order because of the expenses, which are probably not very much, paid to board members. The Minister of State might consider this in the future, as well as the provision of a mechanism to involve people who have been directly affected. This is good practice. Obviously, the social workers, barristers and psychologists will be expert in the area. The direct voice of a person who has been through the experience would be a valuable one to have on the authority.