Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator Ivana Bacik referred to the Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill which we will be discussing presently. I agree that it was a terrific debate last week, when we heard phrases such as "pane of glass" and so on. Unfortunately, the Bill that will be before us later will mean that 110 agencies will be exempt, whereas the number was 60 before we started the debate. We all praised the Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, and her staff and highlighted the need for greater accountability. We said we needed to pass the Bill because Sir Humphrey was not a natural democrat. He has been very active during the week and managed to have another 50 agencies exempted. That is a shame because there is a view at large that the elected Government has been taken over by the permanent government of civil servants, of which this is an illustration.