Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

As Deputy Rabbitte will appreciate, I have not followed the case in the last few weeks. I accept the Deputy's statement that no one has called on them and will request that the matter is examined. I recall the matter and have the note I used to inform the House earlier last month of what the family's needs were. I recall also why the issue arose and the children were taken from the family. I do not wish to get into saying anything unhelpful about the family or the staff involved. The staff had consulted at some length and had to take into account the threats that were made on the lives of the children, which were something they could not ignore. Qualified staff made their decision on the basis that it was a matter which could not be overlooked. I am not in a position to overlook the matter either. They acted and after the subsequent case the children were released. I am sure the staff acted on the basis of their professional knowledge. They were not inexperienced.

Deputy Rabbitte has asked me to discover why, if these issues were so important then, nothing has happened since. From the State's point of view, there was a recognition of the unique needs of the family, which was under pressure. I recall the matter well and have every reason to understand the pressure the family faced in the circumstances. My Cabinet colleague, Deputy Noel Dempsey, who is very familiar with the case and had been dealing with it, outlined the circumstances to me at the time. I do not wish to go through them all but the State provided many different services to the family in various ways and also gave a statutory payment to the family. As I understand it, the Deputy's question is whether I will ask that this matter be examined by a competent person and I will certainly take that up.

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