Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and her departmental colleagues.

The last words in the Minister's opening address to the committee this morning are that she looks forward to continuing our partnership. That is exactly as I see my role, as spokesperson on children and youth affairs, in the relationship with the Minister and her Department. However, at the outset the Chair highlighted the long delay in receipt of responses to signalled issues by members of this committee that, I am sure, if we were to check on the submission times, date back six weeks. It is not only a matter of three, four or five days. The Minister, as a Deputy, will appreciate three issues I tabled for address with her. I got the response to one of them at half past nine when I walked in here this morning.

I am also highlighting something that I spoke to the Minister about recently. We have spoken on a number of occasions about the importance of joined-up thinking on a cross-departmental basis. I repeat my annoyance that the Minister's office continues to refuse parliamentary questions from me for oral address on the monthly engagement with the Minister where I ask whether she has taken the opportunity to engage with Ministers in other Departments on shared areas of concerned regarding children. The practice, as I have stated previously, is wrong because one cannot pigeonhole children into merely the narrow position that applies within the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Minister's concern, as I am aware personally and politically, goes far beyond that. These are reasonable questions. They are not vexatious. They are not meant to catch anybody out. I have had a significant number of my questions disallowed, month after month, and I am sick, sore and tired of it. I want the Minister to address that with the officials concerned so that it will not happen again.

On the Minister's opening remarks, I, too, want to hear what assurances she can give that we have no reason to be concerned in relation to senior personnel of the Family Support Agency. According to the announcement of 20 September of the members of the board of the Family Support Agency in transition to the new Child and Family Agency board, there are seven members, along with the Chair, Ms Norah Gibbons. Is that the Minister's intended full complement of the board? When will the board be established and commence its work? Has that happened or is there a date now set? Will the Minister give us an update in that regard?

The Minister also indicated her legislative priorities in the course of her opening address here this morning. I am concerned that in her legislative priorities she referred to the adoption (tracing and information) Bill. We all worked hard in the children referendum campaign to ensure the successful passage of the proposals therein and I would have expected one of the priorities would have been the promised legislation - the outworking of the decision of the people. That relates to the adoption (amendment) Bill, which does not appear in the Minister's priorities at this point in time. I want the Minister to comment on that.

Regarding one of my questions on the Oberstown campus, the two Oberstown units and Trinity House, I welcome the news that a campus manager has been identified. I wonder whether the Minister is in a position to advise us on who is the intended appointee, when the successful candidate will be in position and whether it is an internal appointment. Perhaps the Minister would give us whatever information she is in a position to give.

I am also anxious to know the up-to-date position with the Victor McElfatrick report. Does the Minister intend to publish it, and if so, when? I have raised this matter with her previously. I am concerned that to many minds it would appear that this report has been buried, and that is not appropriate.