Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 23 October 2019

Select Committee on Children and Youth Affairs

Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee Stage

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her time. As stated earlier when she was not present, there is a great deal of good in the Bill. We have focused on one section of the Bill in our amendments. It is important to acknowledge that there is a lot of good stuff in the Bill. Most of the amendments that have been proposed relate to section 6. I have met officials from her Department. I would welcome another meeting if that could be facilitated. I agree with Deputy Sherlock, who said that this is about the language. I firmly believe there is a wording that could be used. Like the Minister, I am a purist. There are certain things we believe. I am a purist when it comes to my belief that every child should have the opportunity to avail of the services of a guardian ad litemif those services are needed or if he or she chooses to avail of those services. We have discussed children who do not want to have the opportunity to avail of a guardian ad litem. Every child who finds himself or herself in these circumstances should have the opportunity to have a guardian ad litem. Maybe we can meet somewhere to discuss that further. I do not want the Report Stage debate to happen without everything having been teased out in its entirety. I would like to see the Bill passed. I would like to think that common ground can be found. When I arrive at a committee meeting, I do not like to feel, as I did today, that another move is taking place without the committee having had enough time to address it. While I thank the Minister for flagging what she has just presented to us, I emphasise that a great deal of discussion needs to take place before we get to Report Stage. We need to find a solution. The current system is working in certain parts of the country, but it is not working everywhere. Geography has a significant part to play in this. Although there is a lot of good in this legislation, when I walk out of this committee room I will continue to be disappointed with section 6.

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