Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

One of the reasons so much cynicism exists among people regarding politics and the way business is conducted here is the lack of transparency and accountability. Last Thursday, the Minister of State stated in this House, based on information given to him by the HSE, that 23 children died while in the care of the State. Both before that statement was made and subsequently to it, the HSE reported that the figure was 20. Since the Minister of State with responsibility in the area of children must be accountable, truthful and accurate then either the information being given to him by the HSE is not accurate or it must be validated, one or the other.

Following the presentation to the Houses of the Oireachtas of the tragic Fay case by Deputy Shatter, the Minister of State has all of a sudden taken an interest and an initiative. The prioritisation by the Minister of State and the HSE in the past has been irrelevant. These children are dead and some of them died in tragic circumstances. What happened between last Thursday, when the Minister of State made no mention of an inquiry, and last night at 9 p.m., when he announced an independent inquiry into these cases? What happened in the intervening period that he must now validate or find a system of validating information given to him by the HSE in the most sensitive of cases?

The person appointed to carry out the Roscommon report is beyond repute. When that report is completed, will it be published before the review sits? This was a case of the most brutal abuse of young children. Must we wait until the report goes through the review process at the end of the year before it is published?

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