Pádraig Mac Lochlainn TD has been appointed to the position Committee on Public Oversight and Petitions, the position recently vacated by Peadar Tóibín TD.

The role of the Committee is to investigate and identify improvements in the delivery of public services to citizens. The Committee also receives and processes public petitions submitted to the Houses of the Oireachtas and engages regularly with Ombudsmen.

The new Chair commended outgoing Peadar Tóibín TD, “whose careful stewardship and commitment led to the launch of a new petitions system in September. This is a significant innovation, in that for the first time in the 93 year history of the Oireachtas, citizens now have a direct route to influence the parliamentary agenda.”

Deputy Mac Lochlainn also highlighted the importance of engaging with Ombudsmen and added that the Committee looks forward to engaging with the Minister for Health James Reilly TD next week.