Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

This is a very serious matter. It is compounded by the fact that we as parliamentarians, representatives of the people, are being denied the full information by the Department of Health and Children. The Minister of State with responsibility for children, Deputy Barry Andrews, is present but the Minister with overall responsibility is not present. We are being denied the full facts and information on a consistent basis when we make inquiries on behalf of our constituents and in the pursuit of best practice in society. It is not only the Department of Health and Children that is responsible, it is the Health Service Executive. Let us make no mistake about it on this issue.

I tabled a parliamentary question on 7 July last year, a full eight months on Monday. The inquiry was straightforward; to ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of reports that have been conducted by either the Health Service Executive or the former health boards during the past 20 years, which have not been published or have only been published in redacted form, the subjects of those reports and if she would make a statement on the matter. I have repeated that request ad nauseam, page after page, and the response I receive repeatedly is that is has proven difficult to obtain all of the information sought. That goes right up to the beginning of this week, a full eight months later, yet a representative of the HSE could go on "Morning Ireland" this morning and advise people that there are at least 20 reports relating to the outrageous treatment of children in the State's care by this State over all of that time.

It is high time that parliamentarians, Members of this House, made it clear that this will not be tolerated into the future. We are being kicked to touch by the Minister for Health and Children. We are being ignored continually by the HSE and critical information that should have been provided to Members of this House is being systematically withheld by the system that has been entrusted to govern the matters concerning-----

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