Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Does the Minister of State accept that this tragic teenager was scandalously failed by the State? Does he accept that under no circumstances should a situation arise where a teenager cries for help, presents himself to the State seeking care, is essentially left to his own devices and ends up dying three years later? Does he accept that it is in the public interest that there be transparency in our child protection services and that this full report be published without delay? We have waited three years for it.

The "Children First" guidelines on child protection have now been in place for almost ten years. Does the Minister of State accept that he, his predecessor and the Government have scandalously and abjectly failed to ensure that we have a uniform application of the child protection guidelines throughout the State? Does he accept that our current child protection services are dysfunctional and chaotic? It is unacceptable that a report published last July, almost ten years after these guidelines were put in place, refers to the absence of consistency in the delivery of child welfare and protection services across the State, and to the absence of any standards against which the delivery of services can be benchmarked. What steps are being taken to ensure that we provide protection for children who are at risk and that there is a uniformity of application of these guidelines and appropriate training available to all those social workers under pressure to provide fire brigade responses when reports of child abuse are made to the HSE?

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