Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Hundreds of children are reported to be at risk whose cases have not been assigned to social workers and files are gathering dust on shelves in offices throughout the HSE about which nothing has been done for three years. What is the Government doing to obtain from the HSE the reports on our child protection services covering the years 2007 and 2008? The reports should have been published by now; the 2007 report is a year and a half late. Since 1991, there is a statutory obligation under the relevant legislation on children to publish these reports. They should have been laid before the House by now. The culture of secrecy continues and the HSE is part of the problem,-----

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