Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also congratulate the students in Trinity. I went into the Dining Hall on the second day of the occupation and I felt very proud to see the majority of my campaign team who helped get me into that presidential office occupying the room. They were accompanied by the students from Fossil-Free TCD, and also Students Against Fees, which are campaigns which emerged during my presidency, so I was very proud to see them all join together in a joint effort to protest the commercialisation of education and other issues.

I want to raise the issue of social welfare inspectors and the overstepping of the mark in terms of when they knock on a person's door, especially the doors of lone parents. Perhaps this is more suitable for a Commencement matter. I thought this practice had ended years ago, but I spoke to a few mothers over the last few weeks who have had social welfare inspectors visit them who then searched their wardrobes and presses, looking for any sign that another person is living in the house. This must be an invasion of privacy, and there have to be rules and regulations against this type of searching. Single parents are already living below their means.They may already feel helpless and unable to stand up for themselves against social welfare inspectors because they believe that social welfare inspectors must have the right to go through their wardrobes. This practice has to stop and we need to trust single parents. One has to be able to refuse a request to go through one's drawers. I wish to ask the Minister and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection whether this is accepted practice. Are there guidelines in place? Do social welfare inspectors decide to do this or are they instructed by the Department to go through people's belongings and their private space?