Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Will the Minister of State confirm that in the context of this report's publication, the primary issue must be the best interests of children, to ensure that we learn from what went wrong, to ensure that whatever action that possibly can be taken is taken to prevent a recurrence of the failures of this health board, which now is known to have failed children abysmally twice? In addition, will the Minister of State confirm that it is unacceptable to suggest that parents who have substantially failed their children or who have abused their children physically or sexually should be entitled to a veto on the publication of reports in the public interest to ensure the existence of a proper functioning child care system? Does the Minister of State agree it is a false analogy to suggest that some form of confidentiality would entitle parents who have failed their own children to exercise a veto over the full publication of reports into the failure of our social services to provide children with the protection to which they are entitled?

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