Joint Committee on Public Petitions to meet with European Ombudsman

Ahead of the meeting at 9.30am, Committee Chairman Deputy Martin Browne said: “The Committee would like to hear about the European Ombudsman’s findings into how EU institutions have responded to the Covid-19 crisis, the transparency of the information provided by the institutions and how they have communicated with the public.

“The Committee is aware that the European Ombudsman has been monitoring how the EU institutions such as the EU Council and the European Commission, the European Council, and agencies such as the European Medicines Agency, the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) the European Investment Bank, have responded to the pandemic and would like to discuss how greater transparency could be achieved to maintain the public’s trust, as EU member states continue to roll out Covid-19 vaccines.

“Members look forward to engaging with Ms O’Reilly on these initiatives and other work carried out by the European Ombudsman on pandemic-related matters.”

The Joint Committee on Public Petitions is a standing Committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas and has 11 Members, seven from the Dáil and four from the Seanad.

The meeting in the Seanad Chamber can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.