Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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To get off on a better note, I take the opportunity to wish the Minister and her officials a very happy Christmas. It is most important that we have the child and family agency ready to roll from the beginning of the new year. It is, without question and as the Minister has described, historic. It will live up to that, I have no doubt, over the years ahead.

At the conclusion of the legislation in the Dáil, I wished all those involved well in their respective roles and responsibilities, including Norah Gibbons and Gordon Jeyes. Have all the board positions been filled? With the Minister confirm whether that is the case? We should give the new agency the opportunity to settle in. I have no doubt there are many things I could ask, but we need to give the agency a period to settle in and then the more searching questions can apply. I wish the agency well in the major undertaking that it is now embarking on.

I received responses to specific questions I tabled in advance of today's quarterly meeting. I wish to ask some brief questions regarding the ongoing address of the issue of the children of the Roma families taken into care in Dublin and Athlone.

The Minister has indicated in her response that she has received reports on each case from the HSE's child and family services. I presume they have been authored or signed off on by Mr. Gordon Jeyes. Will the Minister clarify this regarding the Dublin and Athlone cases? She has advised that the reports have been furnished, in turn, to the Ombudsman for Children, Ms Emily Logan, whose investigation is ongoing. Will the Minister indicate when she expects Ms Logan to publish her report? Do we have any idea of the timeframe Ms Logan has indicated she will require in order to complete her investigations and publish her report, including any recommendation she might make? This important matter has not only attracted domestic attention but also international attention. I am mindful of the fact that people are looking at this issue because we are conscious of the backdrop to these cases on the European stage. I am anxious that we continue to pursue that matter for all the right reasons.

As regards attempts by adopted persons to trace their birth mother or birth parents, as the case may be, the Minister has indicated that the HSE is in the process of reorganising the information and tracing system to allocate social work resources countrywide in a way that will allow for reduced waiting times. There are serious disparities in the experiences of many such persons. How far on is the HSE in organising information given to it by a raft of organisations, including religious and secular institutions? The list is substantial, as the Minister said. It is welcome that this information has now been placed in the State's hands and that the HSE is progressing its reorganisation. What change, if any, can adopted persons expect in the HSE's management of these files, compared to the regimes that had that information in their care during all these years? Can we expect an improvement in the position for adopted persons who are anxious to trace their birth mother or birth parents, as the case may be?

The Minister has also indicated that she is continuing with her preparations on the heads of the adoption information and tracing Bill. She has said she is anxious to bring the heads of the Bill to the Government at the earliest possible date. Will she indicate when she expects to bring them before the Government? Will she publish them? When does she expect the Bill to be published? Will we see sight of it in the first six months of 2014?

My last question concerns the closure of the Rath na nÓg care centre. I do not intend to labour the point, but Question No. 24 continues to be an issue of some concern to me. I have received correspondence from Mr. Jeyes in this regard and will be addressing the matter directly with him, I hope early in the new year. I wrote to the Minister about it and expressed my concerns about the directive to close down the facility. The directive was issued from the national office. Despite the fact that we have had a meeting since, I advise the Minister and Mr. Breslin that I have received no response to the Minister's correspondence to me. That is a matter of concern to me.

I am also concerned that I have received correspondence from Mr. Jeyes following comments I made in public on this matter. I repeat my earlier points. I wish everyone with responsibility for the new agency every success. I have no question on their competency, but I am concerned. I will address these matters again with the Minister in the future.