Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senators for their support for this motion. Indeed, there is unanimity on the excellent work that has been done by Ms Emily O'Reilly.

Senator Twomey raised the relevant issue of resources. On completion of the First Schedule of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill, that is, the list of bodies that will be subject to investigation by the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman's office identified a need for 13 additional staff to be recruited on a phased basis as the workload of the office increased following enactment of the Bill. However, mindful of the current Exchequer situation, the Ombudsman has since indicated a willingness to explore additional options to maintain a satisfactory service level to the office's clients within the current constraints, while attempting to service satisfactorily the additional workload arising from the Bill. This involves both a comprehensive review of work practices and structures to optimise internal resource allocation and a detailed analysis of the options available for increasing the staffing complement within the current funding constraints regarding salary commitments. Another option to address this is the redeployment of surplus staff from elsewhere in the Civil Service. These options are being explored.

I thank Senator Twomey for his honest acknowledgement that there will always be a certain tension between the Executive and the concept of freedom of information. That will be the case under any Government. It is not just a case, as the Senator was perhaps implying, of suppressing information that might in some sense be embarrassing. There can be perfectly good, objective, bona fide reasons that it is not in the public interest to put certain information in the public domain at a particular point in time.

Senator Hanafin excited my historical imagination by mentioning the founding of the office in Sweden in 1809. If I remember correctly that is when the last of the Vasa dynasty died and Bernadotte, the Napoleonic marshal, took over. His dynasty still reigns today. I wonder if the Ombudsman was introduced as part of that transition or whether there was an element of Napoleonic reform in it.