Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is great to have our first public meeting. Many people are very interested in this subject and we have a huge responsibility on our shoulders. I look forward to working with everybody so that we can produce a comprehensive and, hopefully, action-oriented report. I welcome our colleagues from the NCSE. Mr. Kearney said he was fairly new to this job, so I wish him well.

My first question refers to the emergency legislation to be debated on Friday. A number of people have referred to it and Deputy O'Sullivan's intervention has changed my question a little bit. I was going to ask why we needed emergency legislation because it was said that the Minister had been advised and that there is a database and five year projections, etc. If all of that is in place, then in theory at least, we should not need emergency legislation. In that context, I have two questions. First of all, does Mr. Kearney feel there might be a need to update the database and the information he has?

The collaborative model was mentioned. I am not here to apportion blame, but if it is not working in some way, or if it is not working well, what changes need to be made? It is absolutely crucial that it works. There is no point in complaining that it does not work. These children need our support.