Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

It is a matter for the Whips to arrange the legislation awaiting Second Stage. Hopefully, that can be arranged very quickly. Work is currently under way on drafting the heads of the national vetting bureau Bill, which is the legislation concerning soft information. That ongoing work is being expedited by the Minister.

As regards the appointment of additional social workers, the HSE service plan for this year undertakes to recruit an additional 200 social workers for child protection services.

See this speech in context