We have five petitions for consideration. Petition No. 32 of 2022 is "Public Order Act amendment" from Mr. Liam Doran. This petition relates to a request that certain sections of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 be amended to reduce terms of imprisonment where a person is found guilty of certain offences under the Act. The petitioner has requested this petition be closed. The committee recommends this petition be closed as per Mr. Doran's request. Do members have any views or is this agreed?
Decisions on Public Petitions Received
It is agreed.
Petition No. 33 of 2022 is "Amendment to Organisation of Working Time Act 1997" from Mr. Liam Doran. This petition relates to several changes the petitioner was seeking to the above Act regarding the length of breaks staff may take and time between breaks during work. The committee had already agreed to close this petition at its meetings of 14 and 15 September 2022 and the petitioner was advised of same on 19 September 2022. The committee recommends there be no further action as this petition is already closed. Is that agreed?
It is agreed.
Petition No. 34 of 2022 is "That a WW1 memorial stone be erected in Clondalkin Park as soon as practicable to commemorate those from Clondalkin who died in WW1" from Mr. Liam Doran. This petition relates to erecting a First World War memorial stone in Clondalkin Park. The secretariat contacted South Dublin County Council which responded and set out its plans and concerns. This correspondence was forwarded to the petitioner. The petitioner has now requested this petition be closed. The committee recommends this petition be closed as per Mr. Doran’s request. Do members have any views or is this agreed?
It is agreed.
Petition No. 41 of 2022 is "Tax exemption" from Mr. Jeremiah Murphy. This petition requests that the income tax exemption rate be increased to €40,000 for those aged over 65 years whose only income is from a pension or pensions. The secretariat corresponded with the Department of Finance on the petitioner's behalf and the Department replied, advising that policy changes to the tax code are a matter for the Minister for Finance and the Government. The Department also provided an information note of the income tax age exemption. The committee recommends the correspondence from the Department of Finance be forwarded to the petitioner, Mr. Jeremiah Murphy, for comment within 14 days, and that the petition, along with the reply from Mr. John Hogan of the Department of Finance, be forwarded to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, for consideration and reply within 14 days. Do members have any views or is this agreed?
It is agreed. An awful lot of work went into this. Much work goes on behind the scenes and I thank the secretariat and the rest of the staff because there is a lot of work. We can go through things here quickly enough but people do not see the amount of work that is behind it. I wanted that on record.
Agreed. Petition No. 52 of 2022 is "Lil Reds Legacy Sepsis Awareness Campaign" from Mr. Joseph Hughes. This petition requests that the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and the national sepsis programme within the HSE develop a sepsis awareness campaign for TV and radio explaining to the public how to recognise the signs and symptoms of sepsis. The secretariat corresponded with the Minister for Health and the HSE on behalf of the petitioner. The HSE responded advising that, among other things, the national clinical programme is applying for additional funding to develop a national TV campaign of raising awareness about sepsis, which it aims to run in 2023. The committee recommends the correspondence from the HSE be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days. Do members have any views or is this agreed?
It is agreed. That is good news.
That concludes our consideration of public petitions this afternoon. I invite members of the public to submit petitions via our online portal 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.
Before we move to any other business, I echo what Deputy Buckley said about Ms Maggie Semple and the staff of this committee. The amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to make our job here easy is unbelievable. I thank Ms Semple and the staff on behalf of the members.
Under any other business, there is a change in our staff. Our clerical officer, Ms Margaret O'Donnell, has moved from this committee to the Joint Committee on Autism. On my behalf and on behalf of the rest of the committee, I thank Margaret for all her hard work during her time with us and to wish her well in her new role. Before I let other members in, Margaret was here when I became Chair, which is nearly three years ago now, and she has been very helpful to me in my role. I wish her all the best. It is the autism committee's gain. Do members wish to make any final comments?
I sit on the autism committee so I will have the best of both worlds.
You are responsible.
I echo what the Chair said. Since I have come in here the staff have been amazing, just excellent. Well done to everyone. Once they move along, I wish them the best of luck.
The joint committee adjourned at 3.07 p.m. until 1.30 p.m. on Thursday, 24 November 2022.