Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister and wish him well in his brief. His is an evolving Department which is doing pioneering work in some areas. In that sense, it is a good challenge and I sincerely wish him the best.

I briefly wish to raise some issues about the questions I tabled on mother and baby homes and adoptions. In regard to children in care and the appalling treatment some have experienced, resulting in death in some instances, it is difficult to trump the horror associated with it. A new body has been established to register health and social workers. As of this year just under 3,700 social workers have applied to register with this body. However, the board has acknowledged that some of these individuals do not have particularly extensive experience and as of one or two weeks ago the number of registrations was lower than 3,700 applications. Approximately 400 people have applied but not been registered. The very fact that they have applied for registration is sufficient to allow them to operate as social workers, even though they are, in effect, unregistered social workers in the employ of the HSE. In the context of the serious care issues that arise, I am concerned about the fact that the figures do not add up.

Complaints about serious incidents of child safety breaches and abuse have been made against staff in certain care institutions. What steps would the Minister recommend complainants take in such cases?

The issue of adoption is linked with mother and baby homes, but it is also separate. There is an urgent need to address the issue of adoption through information and tracing legislation, but the problem with the response I have received to my question is that we have been raising this issue for the past three years and the answer has always been the same. That is not the Minister's fault, but three years have passed and the legislation has not yet been delivered as promised. What assurances can we be given that it will be tabled in the autumn? The over-complication and lack of recognition of the Department's legal interpretation have been disputed by others who argue that the right to privacy is not enshrined as the Minister indicated, particularly in the context of adoption. This issue is urgent. The Chinese walls erected in the context of mother and baby homes have set off alarm bells among the groups involved because illegal practices of adoption and coercion need to be addressed. It is not adequate to say these issues will be covered by the new legislation because it will only deal with the provision of information and tracing in the future. It will not take account of what happened to people in the past and the need for an investigation.

I concur with Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin's comments on the commission and have similar concerns, although they are not in any way derogatory of Judge Murphy. It is not sufficient that she be given the option to bring in others. It is an absolute necessity that she bring in others. One of the reasons for Ireland's hammering at the United Nations hearings in Geneva was the approach taken to symphysiotomy did not lend itself to accountability. Nobody was held to account for what happened and that responsibility was written out of the story. Unfortunately, that was the approach taken to Judge Murphy's role. We need to include a truth finding aspect, but the Minister's reference to a timely and cost effective process rings alarm bells for people. Does it mean "limiting"? We need to build consultation and involvement with survivor groups into the process.