Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On the section, they tell us a week is a long time in politics and that is certainly the case because it is nearly a week since we were here discussing some of the amendments on this section. New information has come to light in the past week. The Minister alluded to meeting the Ombudsman at the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions, which was excellent, at which she was very clear in her view. To paraphrase her, she said that this Bill is a long time coming and that she very much welcomes it, as we would. She said it was 25 years in the offing. There was a sense of exasperation, to put it mildly, on her behalf.

I again raised the issue, and the Ombudsman had raised it, of the exemptions being included in this Bill which relate to the Irish Prison Service, the Reception and Integration Agency, RIA, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, and any agencies under the Department of Justice and Equality. My understanding from listening to the Ombudsman is that she is still very much of the opinion she held in 2008 when this Bill lapsed, namely, that those agencies should be included in this legislation and that they should be under her remit. She had grave concerns about some of the issues relating to those agencies that have come to light over the years but she does not want this Bill delayed in the future. She wants it to be enacted as quickly as possible and she believes that if she were to push for those agencies to be included at this stage it might delay it further. My understanding is that she will try to take what she can get at this stage and go back to the drawing board on those other issues. She was very clear, however, that she wants to keep that on the agenda and that she wants them included. That is important. I believe the Minister would like to have those agencies included also. I know from statements he has made previously that he would wish to have them included.

A week is a long time in politics and that was outlined this morning with the publication of the report on St. Patrick's Institution. It is important to relate to the Minister some of the points made this morning on the Order of Business. Senator after Senator rose to their feet this morning-----