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

I move amendment No. 24:

In page 15, subsection (2)(f), lines 31 and 32, to delete all words from and including “the” where it secondly occurs in line 31 down to and including “Skills” in line 32 and substitute “any Minister”.

This amendment seeks to ensure this subsection 13(2) is not limited. The subsection states that the annual report shall include other particulars that the agency considers appropriate or as the Minister, after consulting the Minister for Health and the Minister for Education and Skills, may require. It is reflected in a number of other sections of the Bill which we have also sought to amend that limiting it to the Minister for Health and the Minister for Education and Skills does not take into account the broad reality of children's issues reflecting across several Departments and not solely the preserve of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Children's issues and needs and the wider responsibilities span multiple Departments. I argue that any Minister should apply here and that we should not be restricting it in the annual report to consultation with the Ministers responsible for health and education. The amendment is very straightforward and I hope the Minister will accept it.