Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I will request the information on the various sections of the Children Act about which Deputy Kenny asked and forward it to him.

On the commission of investigation, my officials have discussed the issue with Justice for the Forgotten. The group would prefer broader terms of reference but we have taken as terms of reference what happened in the Oireachtas committee and the issues that had been identified there. People can make submissions to Mr. Patrick McEntee SC. We are trying to address the issues that have been raised but not to open an extensive investigation of the past 30 years that will continue forever. We have been through this process and we must narrow the areas being dealt with.

I was glad to provide a significant amount of legal and financial resources to Justice for the Forgotten but this has been a costly exercise. With the commission of investigation we hope to have a quick examination, and to get the benefit of this type of report on tight terms of reference, as other countries seem to do. This is why it must be narrowed down but people can make their views known to Mr. McEntee. We have covered all of the points that came from the debate in this House and in the Oireachtas committee and all those issues we felt must be dealt with.

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