Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen debate -
Thursday, 25 Apr 2024

Decisions on Public Petitions Received

An Cathaoirleach

I propose that the petitions considered by the committee at this meeting and at previous meetings may be published and the replies from the Department and other bodies may also be published. Is that agreed? Agreed.

We have three petitions for consideration.

The first of them is No. P00036/21, concerning reform of insurance for thatched heritage buildings, from Katie McNelis. A lot of work has gone into this and there has been correspondence back from the Alliance for Insurance Reform. The recommendations are: the comment and suggestions on the way forward from the Alliance for Insurance Reform be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days; the comment and suggestions on the way forward from Alliance for Insurance Reform be forwarded to Insurance Ireland for comment within 14 days; the comment and suggestions on the way forward from Alliance for Insurance Reform be forwarded to the Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for financial services, credit unions and insurance for comment within 14 days; and the comment and suggestions on the way forward from Alliance for Insurance Reform be forwarded to the Minister or State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with responsibility for nature, heritage and electoral reform for comment with 14 days. Do members have any views on that or is it agreed?

Deputy Pat Buckley

That is agreed. An awful lot of work has gone into that but, my God, we will have to get to the end of it at some stage. It is going on too long. It is mad.

An Cathaoirleach

A lot of work has gone into it. It was suggested at the private meeting that we send the recommendations to the Department as well, to get its comments, because the petitioners have tried what the Minister, the Department and the insurance federation told us when they appeared before the committee. With the new recommendations from the Alliance for Insurance Reform, there might be some way forward. It was suggested that we may call the Minister before the committee again. We will wait until we get the responses back from the petitioner. Okay, that is agreed.

Petition No. P00006/22 concerns by-elections and how they may comply with legislation but not with the Constitution. This petition is from Mr. John O'Malley. The recommendations are that the committee publish the response from the Electoral Commission; the correspondence from the Electoral Commission be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days; and the correspondence from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage be forwarded to the petitioner for information as the position of the Department as not changed from its previous correspondence. One of the recommendations and suggestions that came up when we discussed this in private session was that the petitioner can follow this up through the courts system if he so wishes. It is probably not within the remit of this committee but we will continue to work with him until such time as we can do no more. However, if he wishes, it is an option for him to take his recommendations to the courts to try to change things. Is that agreed or do members have views?

Deputy Pat Buckley

That is agreed. We are limited in this regard.

An Cathaoirleach

Petition No. P00049/23 seeks the introduction of extra time as a reasonable accommodation for dyslexic students in State examinations - junior cycle and leaving certificate. The petitioner is Ms Rosie Bissett on behalf of the Dyslexia Association of Ireland. A lot of work has gone into this as well, and we know we are working to a tight timeframe. The recommendations are that the correspondence from the petitioner be forwarded to the Department of Education for comment within 14 days and that the Department should be invited to respond as soon as possible, given the implications of its response for dyslexic students in the upcoming junior certificate and leaving certificate examinations. Also raised at our private session was that we write to the Department and the State Examinations Commission for a reply within one week to see if we can get this up and running for this year's examinations, if possible. If need be, we can hold a separate special meeting of the committee and invite both the Department and the State Examinations Commission to appear. One of the responses we got was that it would give an advantage to students in that situation. The whole committee and I thought that was scandalous. If we can, the process we will take is that we will write to the Department and the State Examinations Commission and look for a response within six days instead of the usual 14 days and, if need be, hold a special meeting to see if we can get this over the line for this year's exams. Do members have any views or is that agreed?

Deputy Pat Buckley

I echo the Chair's sentiments. It is a disgrace. For the benefit of the people out there, it is just a matter of having 10% additional time for these people. That is all it is. It is not millions and millions. It is about the urgency, but also the regression if they are not given enough time to do these junior certificate exams, for example. They will not progress to the next stage. That is why it is urgent to get a response from the State Examinations Commission as quickly as possible. For those who need the extra 10% time, there only needs to be a sticker on the table to say they need that additional time. As it stands now, it is discrimination that these people are not being facilitated. That is why it is so urgent. I agree with that and I know the rest of the committee totally agrees with it. I hope we will move it forward as fast as we can.

An Cathaoirleach

The system at the moment has been there for 24 years. I do not think anybody would say that things have not moved on drastically in 24 years. The recommendations from the Dyslexia Association of Ireland should be taken into account. As Deputy Buckley has said, it is only a sticker on a table. That is agreed.

That concludes our consideration of public petitions this afternoon. I invite members of the public to submit petitions via the online portal, which is available at petitions.oireachtas.ie. A petition may be addressed to the Houses of the Oireachtas on a matter of general public concern or interest or an issue of public policy.

We come to any other business. Do members have any issues they wish to raise?

Deputy Pat Buckley

No. I just thank everybody for facilitating the meeting today. People never see the reams of paperwork and research that goes into this. I thank everybody involved.

An Cathaoirleach

I add my thanks to the lads here - Martha Dowling, Barbara Hughes, Ciaran McConway, Alex Alino and everybody else involved - for the amount of work that goes in behind the scenes. I thank them on behalf of the committee.

The joint committee adjourned at 3.58 p.m. until 1.30 p.m. on Thursday, 9 May 2024.