6 Noll 2012, 16:11
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions this afternoon agreed ask the Minister for Health, the Secretary General at the Department of Health and HSE officials to meet at the earliest opportunity to explain issues arising out today’s meeting with the Ombudsman.
6 December 2012
Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly outlined to the Committee two Special Reports on grant aid to those with disabilities, which criticise the Department of Health for not implementing recommendations by her office. Ms O’Reilly explained that both the Mobility Allowance scheme and the Motorised Transport Grant are being operated on the basis of eligibility conditions which breach the provisions of the Equal Status Acts.
Cathaoirleach of the Committee Peadar Tóibín says: “We thank the Ombudsman for a thorough and candid summary of her Reports which demonstrate a worrying disregard for the law by a Government Department. In the case of the Motorised Transport Grant, the Committee heard that the HSE has accepted the Ombudsman’s recommendations in full and is now working towards implementing them. The Minister however, while not disputing the findings of the Reports, rejected both recommendations and the two schemes continue in the full knowledge that they are breaching the law.
“Committee Members expressed dismay at the findings of the reports, which instance a Department openly flouting the law to the detriment and cost of the citizen, many of these citizens the most vulnerable in society. Transparency of service, equality of service delivery and state compliance with the law are central to a progressive democracy. That a culture exists within any department that militates against these three democratic pillars is unacceptable. That Ombudsman after Ombudsman has investigated and reported on this culture and that the Houses of the Oireachtas up until now has responded with inertia is indefensible.\"
“We as a committee will use the full extent of the power at our disposal to ensure that there is full compliance with the law and that the citizen’s rights are vindicated. We are calling on the Minister for Health, the Secretary General of the Department of Health and the HSE to appear before our Committee before Christmas to ensure progress on this issue. We also seeking are a briefing from the legal team for the Houses of the Oireachtas on the broader issues raised on Ombudsman recommendations not being acted on by Government Departments.\"
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
Committee Membership
Deputies:
Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit Alliance
Joan Collins, People Before Profit Alliance
Michael Conaghan, Labour
Alan Farrell, Fine Gael
Charles Flanagan, Fine Gael
Michael Healy-Rae, Independent
Peter Mathews, Fine Gael
Michael McCarthy, Labour (Leas-Chathaoirleach)
Michelle Mulherin, Fine Gael
Derek Nolan, Labour
Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Sinn Féin
Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Fianna Fáil
John Paul Phelan, Fine Gael
Peadar Tóibín, Sinn Féin (Cathaoirleach)
Senators:
Thomas Byrne
Trevor Ó Clochartaigh
Jimmy Harte
Tony Mulcahy
Susan O’Keeffe