Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I feel really strongly on this. I believe it is open to interpretation. The Minister is saying they might not be considered a witness on party to all proceedings. However, once the word "witness" is mentioned there, they might be seen as only a witness. This comes from the stakeholders and from people who deal with child welfare cases in the courts system. They are fairly adamant about this. By removing the word "witness", we are protecting the current status. It does not have a cost to the Exchequer. On some of the other things, we have accepted the Minister's explanation. I will not be backing down on this one.