Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsman meet to consider the Ombudsman Annual Reports for 2023 and 2024 and separately a range of petitions

The meeting in 2 sessions will look at:
11:15-13:15 
Ombudsman Annual Reports for 2023 and 2024 and other related matters.
13:15-13:30
Consideration of the following petitions
P00006-25    To give practical application to the right not to attend religious instruction in school
P00007-25    A Call to Ban Election Posters in Ireland
P00014-25    Reform Irish Laws on Pet Theft 2025
P00015-25    Flawed Legislation relating to Pensions and Social Security

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Louise Reilly said “we look forward to welcoming the Ombudsman Mr Ger Deering to the meeting tomorrow. We will look for in-depth analysis on the 2024 Annual Report published last week. The report highlights the Ombudsman's role in advocating for citizens' rights and holding public bodies accountable.
 Among the issues raised within the Report that the Committee will look to examine tomorrow are:
•    The Ombudsman welcomes a new scheme to support people with disabilities, a long-standing issue.
•    The Ombudsman calls for sustainable funding to support younger people in nursing homes.
•    Complaints to the Ombudsman have risen by 30% since 2019, with 4,778 complaints received in 2024.

The Committee meeting can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV. 
Read more on the work done by the Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsman 
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.