Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

My understanding of what the Minister said is that she proposes to bring forth an amendment to allow her officials to attend judicial proceedings.

I am worried about the proposed new section 35D(2) of the Child Care Act 1991, as inserted by the section of the Bill we are discussing, which states:

Following the making of an order under section 35B(3), the Minister may at the request of the guardian ad litem appointed for the child provide, or arrange for the provision, to the guardian ad litem of such legal advice or legal representation, or both, as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the matters specified in subsection (3).

The proposed new section 35B(3) states:

In proceedings under Part IV, IVB or VI the District Court, of its own motion or on the application of any party to the proceedings, shall consider whether to direct that a guardian ad litem be appointed for a child and the court may by order so direct.

I wonder where the Minister is going with the creation of this entity within the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. I may have inadvertently and incorrectly stated on Second Stage that responsibility for this entity will be given to Tusla. That was an error on my part. We are now creating an entity that will come under the remit of the Minister of the day. Obviously, the Minister will have control of its budget. While the Minister will not become a party to court proceedings, he or she will be able to go into courts. Could that put the Minister into conflict with the child law reporting project, for instance? We have only just received this information. I am speaking for myself as an Opposition spokesperson when I say that all stakeholders continue to have a lot of respect for the independence of the Child Care Law Reporting Project. Any recommendations made arising from the work of the project have the confidence of everybody who is involved in the whole area of childcare law.