Dr. Maurice Manning:

One never knows.

I was asked if I would urge the Department of Justice and Law Reform to have a standing committee for NGOs. The answer is yes, but I would not hold my breath. It would be a very good idea because the Department is not great at listening. It would do it good to have open and frank dialogue with various outside bodies. The security of the State would not be threatened if that were to happen.

Senator Bradford spoke about the use of language. The model I would hold is that of George Orwell. He was wonderful in detecting the sort of speak that told lies or obscured the truth. The language used by everybody involved in human rights should be crystal clear. This should be the case as far as possible, although there may be difficulties with nuances. One should try to communicate with the most vulnerable persons. Alice Leahy, a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission, is a founder of Trust and works daily with the most bruised people. She constantly upbraids us because our language is not clear enough, and she is right. It is a standard to which we should all aspire to achieving.

Senator Moloney spoke about carers. The last commission tried to do some work on a charter for carers, but it did not achieve it. I agree with everything the Senator said on the issue.

Senator Power raised the question of integration, on which we have done much work. Our document was fed into the forum where it set some of the standards. I agree with the Senator. I live beside a national school attended by children of 17 nationalities. National teachers are the unsung heroes because of the work they have done to integrate pupils.