I remind members of the constitutional requirement that members must be physically present within the confines of the place in which the Parliament has chosen to sit, namely, Leinster House, in order to participate in public meetings. I will not permit members to participate where they are not adhering to this constitutional requirement. Therefore, any member who attempts to participate from outside the precincts will be asked to leave the meeting. I think we are all familiar with that.

I propose that the petitions we consider will be published following our meeting and we will go through them now.

The first petition is a call to ban election posters by Mr. Evin Conway. We are all familiar with this issue. The proposal is that the correspondence from the petitioner be forwarded to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for comment within 14 days. I hope we will have an opportunity to engage with Mr. Conway and to have a full discussion about this because there is a wide variety of views across all the political parties. I do not think any party has a particular view on it, but it would interesting if we can schedule it, perhaps in the new year. Do members have any views on this?

No.

Okay. The proposal is that the correspondence from the petitioner be forwarded to the Department for comment within 14 days. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The next item is an update on petition No. 16 of 2025, which relates to flood relief and was discussed at a previous session. We have received responses from the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW and Cork County Council. The recommendation is that we publish those responses and that the correspondence be forwarded to the petitioner. We hope to have the continuation of that session next week. I know members are particularly interested in it. Is that course of action with regard to the correspondence agreed? Agreed.

The witnesses who spoke about this want to thank the committee. They were humbled. They had no words. They were delighted and honoured that they could come here and tell their story so they asked me to thank the committee.

On behalf of the committee, I can say they did themselves proud. It was a good and informative session.

It is not finished. We will hear from Cork County Council and the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW early in the new year.

No. 41 relates to fair citizenship for people under temporary protection. We have received correspondence from the petitioner. The recommendation is that we publish the response from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and send it to the petitioner for comment within 15 days. Is that agreed or do members have a view on it?

Did the petitioner want to present a petition or were specific questions outlined?

The petitioner presented a petition and outlined their issues. We sent it to the Department of justice which has sent a response and that response will now be sent to the petitioner. On that basis, we will consider the petitioner's response, if they choose to correspond with us, and that will move it forward. This matter is under consideration by the Government anyway so it may move more quickly than the committee does. We do not know. The proposal is that we publish the response from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and send it to the petitioner for comment within 14 days. Is that agreed? Agreed.

No. 43 relates to cannabis regulation and calls for the expansion of the medical cannabis access programme. It is from a group called the Futures Green Project. The petitioner has submitted research papers and we have written to the Department of Health seeking a response to the submission that was made. The proposal is that we publish the response and send the correspondence to the petitioner within 14 days. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The next petition is from Mr. Jordan Casey stating that people aged 23 and over should be able to run for President. We have written to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to seek a response about its views on this petition. The proposal is that, once it has been received, that correspondence will be sent to the petitioner and published. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The last petition we have to consider relates to the appointment of an ombudsman for disability. Several members of the committee have a particular interest in this. We have written to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality to seek a response and its view. That will inform how we go forward. The proposal is that, once it has been received, that response from the Department will be published and sent to the petitioner within 14 days. Do members want to add anything?

It is something we could definitely look at because we have had committees on it before. Previous Minsters of State with responsibility for mental health and older people have told me their portfolios were too big so I would like to get their take on the ombudsman idea.

We may get a chance in the new year to have a discussion about this with one of the ombudsmen. Adding another ombudsman is a big deal so we need to consider it, but it would be worthwhile pursuing it.

That concludes consideration of public petitions.

I just want to make a comment on that. The consideration of that proposal from the group is vital because it would give us a chance to have a thorough discussion about it, hear from the organisation and see what benefits could be gained from the consideration of it.

I tend to agree with the Deputy, because this is an issue people will want to engage on. It is an issue there will be some interest in and it is timely, given that the Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development and the Committee on Disability Matters recently held a joint meeting and it is being discussed. I hope we will have a chance to debate it in the new year.

That concludes our consideration of public petitions this evening. I invite members of the public to submit petitions via our online portal 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.

Do members wish to raise any other business?

I thank the secretariat and all the staff, as always. We get the debriefed stuff. They go through reams of paper and go back and forth so they should not be forgotten.

Yes, and it is not lost on me as Cathaoirleach that we would literally be lost without them.

We have agreed our decisions. The committee is adjourned until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 9 December 2025, when we will meet in both private and public session.