John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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At our last meeting the Chairman referred to the report we issued on foster homes. I understand he said the Garda made it clear to him there may not be prosecutions. It now seems to be suggested that the terms of reference for the senior counsel appointed to investigate the matter will be so narrow that they will only cover the procurement aspects of this entire affair. Given that the Garda indicated criminal prosecutions are unlikely and that the committee was at the forefront of dealing with this matter with the HSE, we should ask that the terms of reference be broad enough to include all events since the early 1990s or late 1980s. It is not good enough to merely review or investigate the procurement issues. I understand we have a remit in this regard. We dealt with procedure, which was why we had the HSE before us, but we also dealt with much more subsequently. The committee should ask that the terms of reference be as broad as possible.