Results 461-480 of 1,035,871 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Rory O'Hanlon OR speaker:Violet-Anne Wynne OR speaker:Maurice Quinlivan OR speaker:Mick Barry OR speaker:Pat Buckley OR speaker:Martin Browne)

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: Yes. In 2021, the Office of the Ombudsman published the Grounded report, which outlined the lack of access to transport for people with disabilities. The Ombudsman stated in his report that he met officials from the Department of the Taoiseach on a number of occasions but he also said the "lack" of progress was nothing short of shameful. We had a disability strategy from 2017 to 2022 and...

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: Yet still the same problems.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: The Ombudsman believes we need to get an Department or Minister who will be directly responsible.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: I agree with the Ombudsman because at the minute the approach is one of pass the buck and blame someone else. I want to know about access to public buildings. My own town of Cashel has a gold star. It was not until I went around the town with your chaps, who are dead since, and may they rest in peace, that we found out, even after being awarded a gold star, how much more needed to be done....

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: Ms O'Shea has lodged a complaint and I will too. Ms O'Shea in contact with the Ombudsman.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Pat Buckley: I thank our guests and it is great to see them here again. Guests attending some committees may feel like they are being interrogated but this committee is a bit different. I want to discuss the In Sickness and in Death report published in April 2023. Mr. Deering, in his statement today, said it was an investigation into medical treatment in the EU, EEA and the UK. A number of...

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Pat Buckley: I certainly will.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Pat Buckley: I was trying to be polite.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Pat Buckley: I look forward to the Ombudsman's report. No matter what situation we are discussing, it seems to be the case that if communication breaks down, everything breaks down. Without having a conversation, nothing will happen. I am very happy to come back to Mr. Deering's office with details of the case I raised. I have one more question, if the Cathaoirleach will allow it.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: Work away, Deputy.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Pat Buckley: Absolutely.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: You are okay.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: I might help. A girl called Michelle O'Shea from Golden, who is disabled, has a video out at the minute about access. I encourage people to look at her video.

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Pat Buckley: Mr. Deering said in his opening statement: "To ensure public bodies respect the dignity and worth of every individual interacting with them, we developed a guide for staff of the Office of the Ombudsman in 2023..." Has that guidance been rolled out? Sometimes, people come into our offices to talk about how terribly they were treated by such-and-such an organisation. They describe people...

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: We also want to be associated with what Senator Craughwell has said. Coming back to the immigration end of it and the integration in communities, we see people being moved who have been living, for example, in Borrisokane in my county of Tipperary, for ten or 12 years and are integrated into the football clubs, the Tidy Towns and the whole lot. What are the Ombudsman's views on that? We...

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: Senator Craughwell was talking about the language that is being used. The Ombudsman himself said it. Has the Ombudsman had many complaints about, for example, local radio or national radio? As we said, it is scandalous that people are being painted as rapists, paedophiles, undocumented and unvetted. In some stations, there does not seem to be any impartiality to try to stop that kind of...

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: In 2020, the then Ombudsman, Mr. Peter Tyndall, was dealing with complaints about water services. Irish Water, or Uisce Éireann as it is now known, was set up to take control of this. We see boil-water notices daily, and there are places with water outages, etc., for months. There is frustration among the public and ourselves. We have a direct line to the organisation, trying to get...

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: In his opening statement the Ombudsman said, "The Ombudsman team has developed a strong and insightful knowledge and empathetic approach to dealing with complainants and complaints in what can be delicate and emotive circumstances." With the Ombudsman's current resources, what does the future look like? Does he reckon that future will guarantee timely, efficient and effective resolution to...

Committee on Public Petitions: Office of the Ombudsman Annual Report 2022 and Related Matters: Discussion (11 Jul 2024)

Martin Browne: Is Mr. Deering satisfied the recommendations his office has made are being implemented? He has noted his frustration about the implementation of recommendations outlined in the Wasted Lives report on the nursing homes issue. Are there other areas in which he is finding there is more resistance and is there anything the committee can do to improve that?