Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome what the Minister said in her opening address. Some actions will require a short to medium-term approach to restore confidence and trust. One such action that can be taken straight away - the Minister alluded to it in her contribution - is to amend the Child Care Act 1991. It is unbelievable that big businesses, making profits in excess of €1 million, if found to have breached regulations, are fined €1,270. That is not good enough. There is a need for amending legislation in this area. We facilitated the Minister previously when she brought forward technical legislation in this area and, I can assure her, we will facilitate her again. There is a need for punitive penalties to ensure large business do not get away with breach of practices because we are talking about the safety and well-being of our children.

I had thought the Minister might have alluded to the children first legislation. It has been promised repeatedly in recent years. The absence of this legislation is leaving some children in vulnerable situations. That legislation should be in place before the summer recess. We can facilitate this by sitting on Fridays and late at night to ensure this critical legislation is put in place. It needs to be in place before parents take their children back to the crèches and child care services in September. That would help restore a renewed confidence and ensure that the protection and welfare of children is finally put on a statutory basis. I am aware the Minister is committed to doing that and I hope she replies to my request when she gets an opportunity to do so.
I seek also the registration of all child care services. I welcome the fact that the Minister has advised in her contribution that this will be done in September. It is also welcome that she has committed to the hiring of additional inspectors. It is unbelievable that there are more inspectors in the animal welfare area than in child welfare.Will the focus of the new inspectorschange from compliance based to ensure the well-being and learning developmentof our children? Will it be similar to the joint evaluation process debated some weeks ago in the Dáil?In her contribution the Minister said she had spoken with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform but will she confirm if she was successful in getting additional workers? It is imperative that additional resources and a national training fund are provided to ensure the implementation of the Síolte framework and Aistear curriculum.Perhaps the Minister will give a timeline for same. Given that she has made many promises and commitments today, willshe commit to publishing a quarterly report to ensure all the targets she has set will be met?

In regard to the issues exposed by the RTE programme, were any of the issues brought to the attention of the Minister or the HSE prior to being exposed by RTE? May I put a few direct questions to the HSE officials?