Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen díospóireacht -
Thursday, 22 Feb 2024

Decisions on Public Petitions Received

Deputy Martin Browne resumed the Chair.

An Cathaoirleach

Next on the agenda is consideration of public petitions. I propose that the petitions considered by the committee at this meeting and previous meetings may be published and that the replies from the Departments and other bodies may also be published. Is that agreed? Agreed.

We have five petitions for consideration today. The first is P00021/21, which deals with taking in charge and which is from Mr. Terence Coskeran. This has been going on for the past couple years. Mr. Coskeran brought his petition to the committee. he also wrote a letter. I will not read it again, because Deputy Buckley will get a swelled head if he is thanked too much.

Deputy Pat Buckley

Yes, too many times.

An Cathaoirleach

The recommendation is that the petition be closed in line with the petitioner's request. I thank the petitioner for engaging and being happy with the petition process and I thank Tipperary County Council for its assistance. We will look for an update from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Irish Water every three months. Do members have any views? Is that agreed?

Deputy Pat Buckley

Agreed. It is a good news story, for a change.

An Cathaoirleach

I thank Mr. Coskeran. I know him well; he is from my county. We built up a good relationship with Tipperary County Council, which I think we should retain. Perhaps we should do the same with other councils as well. There are something like 860 estates throughout the country that are in the same sort of situation that Mr. Coskeran and his family were caught up in. It would be a good practice by this committee to make contact with councils to see whether we can resolve issues like we have on behalf of Mr. Coskeran. The petition is closed. I again thank the staff for all the work they did on it.

No. P00006/22 relates to by-elections and is from Mr. John O'Malley, who states:

The onus is on representatives elected to the Dáil/Seanad to ensure that the Democratic Process in relation to Dáil Elections is compliant with the Constitution. I am now asking you to amend legislation to make Bye/By Elections compliant with the current Constitution, to ensure that the wishes of the electorate are adhered to for the duration of the Dáil. This can quite easily be done by amending ("It is necessary for the minutiae of many legislative provisions to be formulated, and indeed revised and updated, following the enactment of the principal law") legislation similar to the system applied to EU and Council/Corporations elections where the electorate decisions are adhered to during the duration of the said bodies tenure even though such bodies electoral systems are not enshrined in the Constitution. Or alternately will you consider getting an all-party committee to examine same.

Or if you persist with the current legislation, are you going to organise a Referendum? If you are in any doubt, see, See Crotty v. An Taoiseach 1987. "It is not within the competence of the Government, or indeed the Oireachtas to free themselves from the constraints of the Constitution.

The committee recommends that the correspondence from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days. Do members have any views or is that agreed?

Deputy Pat Buckley

That is agreed.

An Cathaoirleach

No. P00021/22 relates to the Kiltimagh water scheme and is from Mr. Tom Carney, who claims:

We are a village of about twenty families in Kiltimagh co Mayo. The age ranges between twelve months and nights eight years old. We have never had a drinking water supply in our village. We started back in 2012 working with mayo council. Fast forward finally getting funding for a water supply to all homes in 2019. Since [then] we have hit roadblocks with Mayo Council and Irish water. All funding is in place and all families had contributed €1500 to €3000 each household. We provided all maps worked with approved contractors all to no avail. Irish water and Mayo council don’t get along and we will never get a water supply. We have [petitioned] every political figure in mayo. To no avail again. [The claim is that] Mayo Council and Irish water don’t get along. I have at least sixty emails and letters to council and Irish water. I have three very young children and buying bottled water has my family struggle day in day out. All the same for the village.

This is similar to what we have just spoken about in respect of Terence Coskeran. We need to get in touch with Mayo County Council. The recommendation is that in light of the sensitive nature of this petition and the seeming lack of progress, we will invite the petitioner, Mayo County Council, Uisce Éireann and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to come before us on the same day in order that we can hear from all the sides. It is proposed that the running order on day would be a first session lasting 90 minutes with the petitioner and a second session with Mayo County Council, Uisce Éireann and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The committee may leave other petitions until the following meeting if that is agreed. Do members have any views?

Deputy Pat Buckley

Just that it is agreed.

An Cathaoirleach

The right to water is a fundamental one. It is hard to believe that this community is going through this experiences and is struggling to resolve its case. Hopefully, we can have the same kind of feedback from and correspondence with Mayo County Council and get a similar result to what which we achieved with Tipperary County Council.

No. P00040/23 relates to 17 years being the legal age limit to drive a car. It is from Mr. Bartosz Szczesny. I think I pronounced his name correctly this time. The petition is about how people should be allowed to operate cars on public roads from the age 16 in Ireland. The updated information we have is that the secretariat wrote to the Departments of Justice and Transport and received the following responses. The Department of Justice stated: "The development and implementation of road traffic legislation and policy, including the matters raised in your correspondence falls within the remit of the Department of Transport."

As such, it is recommend that the query be addressed to that Department. Second, the Department of Transport stated:

Thank you for your correspondence of 2 February in relation to the petition received by your office, No: P00040-24 from Mr Bartosz Szczesny, entitled "16 years of age legal limit to drive a car".

The minimum age at which a person can hold a driving licence or learner permit in Ireland is 17. Irish driver licensing operates within a framework of EU law that sets out the legislation with which all member states must comply. The current EU Directive is Directive 2006/126/EC of 20 December 2006 on driving licences, which was transposed into Irish law by the Road Traffic (Licensing of Drivers) Regulations 2006 (SI 537 of 2006), as amended.

The recommendation is that the correspondence from the Department of Transport be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days. Do members have any views? Is that agreed?

Deputy Pat Buckley

It is agreed.

An Cathaoirleach

The only thing we should mention is the issue of road safety, given the higher number of fatalities on the roads last year, when there were record numbers, and the number we have had already this year.

No. 00045/23, entitled "Accept our Cash", is from Mr. Peter O'Donoghue. According to Mr. O'Donoghue:

Today, more and more businesses and organisations in Ireland are implementing a policy of card and contactless payments only for financial transactions. This policy cannot be accepted in Ireland, as it is a discriminatory policy which discriminates against many various cohorts and sections of people in our society, who when it comes to paying for a service or product don’t use contactless payment methods but use cash instead. The people discriminated due to this policy include many of our elderly, homeless, intellectually disabled, recent immigrants, and people in general who might not have a bank account, credit card or smartphone for their own personal and private reasons. Whilst card and contactless payment systems have many benefits for both businesses and customers and should continue being used, cash must always be accepted as legal tender as well in this country. A payment policy that enacts discrimination of any group or individual in our society cannot be tolerated.

The recommendation is that the correspondence from the petitioner be forwarded to the Department of Finance for comment within 14 days and also to the Central Bank of Ireland, again for comment within 14 days. Am I mistaken or did the Government or the Minister try to bring something in on cash payments to the effect that they must be continued?

Deputy Pat Buckley

There are a couple of angles here, one of which relates to the sanitary products they are bringing in. They will be allowed to sell them in all shops but they can only be bought using cash.

An Cathaoirleach

If it is cash, yes.

Deputy Pat Buckley

There is something happening on this matter.

An Cathaoirleach

The correspondence from the petitioner will be forwarded to the Department and to the Central Bank and we will get a reply back. Is that agreed?

Deputy Pat Buckley

It is agreed.

An Cathaoirleach

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