Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I refer to two matters on the Order of Business which have some relevance to the debate on the Ryan Commission report. Has the Government decided to give priority to legislation required concerning the usage of soft information to protect children at risk of abuse? The Oireachtas joint committee report published in September recommended the Bill be published before Christmas. It is currently on the C list and there is no timeframe for when it will be published.

The second issue relates to the report on the Monageer tragedy. The Government indicated it was considering a mechanism to facilitate the publication of those sections of the report euphemistically referred to as "having been redacted", but which were in fact censored, including seven recommendations contained in it. Members have no means of knowing whether those seven recommendations are, for example, in some way replicated in the Ryan commission report. We should have access to that information before we start the debate on the Ryan commission report. What does the Government intend to do with regard to bringing the Monageer report before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children so that the censored portions of it are accessible to Members?

See this speech in context