Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I wish to raise two issues with the Tánaiste. In September 2008, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children issued, on behalf of that committee, an agreed statement on the need for the introduction of legislation to deal with the issue of soft information in regard to allegations of child sexual abuse. The chairperson, Deputy Mary O'Rourke, stated that such legislation could be easily and readily implemented and did not require a constitutional amendment. This matter has slipped back on the Government's legislative programme to some time in 2010 or later. What is the Government's intention in regard to this important legislation? There are times when this House has no business. As this matter has been agreed by the all-party committee, why can this legislation, which is important in terms of protecting children, not be brought forward as a matter of urgency?

An announcement was made yesterday by Government about a pre-budget outlook statement and, possibly, a debate in this regard in the House. Pre-budget outlook statements were first introduced in 2007-----

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