Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

In recent times we have witnessed the betrayal of children's lives in this country. The Murphy and Ryan reports made shocking revelations about the abuse of children. The initiative taken by Deputy Shatter last week exposed inadequacies and flaws in the State's system of accountability. It also exposed the arm's length approach adopted by the Government in respect of the most sensitive of issues, namely, the lives of the children of our country.

The former Ministers of State at the Office of the Minister for Children, Deputies Brian Lenihan and Smith, and the current Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, were in situ during a period when information relevant to the inadequacies and flaws in the States system were perfectly obvious.

Following the laying before the Oireachtas of the report into the aforementioned tragic case by Deputy Shatter, statements were made in this House last Thursday. Prior and subsequent to the taking of those statements, the Health Service Executive reported that 23 children died while the care of the State. In responding to the statements, the Minister of State claimed that 20 children have died. He made no reference to the establishment by him of an independent inquiry or review into the loss of lives of children in the care of the State since 2000. Who is correct? The HSE gave a figure of 23 children while the Minister of State's figure was 20. What happened between 6 p.m. last Thursday and 9 p.m. yesterday, when the Minister of State made his comment about establishing an independent inquiry?

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