Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

In respect of the question Deputy Charles Flanagan asked, that is also the aspect in which I am interested. Has the Minister been immune from the representations we have been getting from families of wards of court? They have relatives who are wards of court and who are in receipt of awards, which have been invested in accordance with whatever is the practice, but they are extremely concerned about the implications over the past year and a half of the serious diminution of the awards in some cases. They are coming to us asking for guidance and help in this regard. I cannot believe that the Minister has not been the subject of the same representations. Will he avoid giving us auld blarney about the 1998 Act? Has he made representations to the Courts Service? Are changes in prospect? Will there be help for these families who find themselves beleaguered in the circumstances I have described?

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