Mr. Gerry McKiernan:

The inspection function was determined many years ago when the preschool inspection service was being developed. A Labour Court determination and decision prescribed that the grade and function of inspector be at the level of assistant director of public health nursing. In the run-up to the establishment of the Child and Family Agency and in preparation for its establishment, the children and family services in the HSE conducted a wide scale consultation and negotiation with representatives of staff at all levels, IMPACT trade union, SIPTU and the INMO, which represents the predominance of inspection staff.

I am happy to report that we concluded discussions satisfactorily, with agreement on many outstanding issues of a technical nature. Some may say they were minor but they all needed to be concluded in the interests of a consistent approach under the remit of the agency. The public health nursing input to inspection is predominant but it is not exclusive, and there are some inspectors who hold other qualifications. As the Minister has mentioned, the inspection capacity is enhanced, supplemented and supported by inputs from environmental health personnel as well. Their deployment varies across the country.