Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Taoiseach has come in here with an extraordinarily high reputation for straight talk and delivery. He mentioned outcomes and delivery as being fundamental to what he must do. On 29 April 2008, Deputy Shatter asked the Minister of State with responsibility for children how many at risk children were on waiting lists where no intervention has taken place. The Minister of State at the time was unable to answer that question. He has now been promoted for his lack of knowledge about a fundamental issue with which he was dealing. He did not know the answer to the question.

The reason he did not know the answer is because the HSE or the Minister for Health and Children are also unable to answer the question for the simple reason that they are dealing with 2006 figures. Deputy Shatter pointed that out on 29 April and there was no answer. Since then, we have had a consistent hiding behind the words "serious and immediate risk" when we know that there are hundreds of children who are at risk but who do not receive services simply because they do not fall into the category where one can tick the two boxes of "immediate" and "serious".

The Taoiseach has, quite rightly, spoken very strongly about those marginalised at the edge of society, bringing the vulnerable to the centre of State services and lifting people up. I agree with those sentiments but is he not ashamed of a situation where, as the paymaster for the past number of years, he now assumes the reins of responsibility in the full knowledge that the Minister who took over from him does not know the number of children at risk on waiting lists where no intervention has taken place? It is a fact that the Government is now colluding with the HSE in the endangerment of the children of the nation and playing games with words.

The Taoiseach mentioned that he understood what was in the programme. I know he does. I will give three examples. There was a referral from a teacher in 2006 regarding an eight year old girl who disclosed that her uncle kept trying to kiss her on the lips and that her stepfather kept showing her pictures of naked women. To date, she has never been met by social workers and her file remains open. What about the child aged four whose mother had seriously self-harmed by ingesting glass and cutting herself? The mother had disclosed that she was suicidal and that her boyfriend was very violent. She failed to show up for an appointment and no further contact could be made with this family. The case was closed last December. What about the 12 year old boy who was displaying extremely sexually abusive behaviour towards other children? He was referred in early 2006 and it was almost two years before his parents were met by social workers. However, they could offer him no response and no service.

Who made these decisions? If we are serious about protecting the children of the nation, not playing games with words and hiding behind the Minister for Health and Children's mantra of serious and immediate risk, surely we should be in a position to provide a service at weekends and out of hours. Most of these incidents take place out of hours and at weekends when social workers cannot be contacted and when there are no services.

I do not want to hear the Taoiseach respond to this in words that amount to another covert cutback in health services here. Does he know how many children are on waiting lists where no intervention has taken place? Will he give a guarantee that the State and the Government under his direction will see to it and give a guarantee that there will be an out of hours and weekend service for those who are most vulnerable and at risk and who, as "Prime Time Investigates" pointed out, will die in some cases and suffer long-term damage in others? This is the Taoiseach's responsibility now. He has talked it up on one side; I would like to see delivery on the other.

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