Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

An out-of-hours service will be provided to ensure a place of safety for children who are at extreme risk. This was not available in the past and it will now be provided because it is necessary.

With regard to the point raised by the Deputy on the role of the HSE, it will also have to take whatever steps it can take to learn lessons from this report. The chief executive officer of the HSE has a statutory duty of care in these matters and this is the reason he is in the privileged position of being able to read the report in its entirety. There is no question of covering up anything; it is a question of having to take legal advice with regard to the report-----

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