Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I welcomed the report in the first instance because it is a good report which gives a good summary of the way in which efforts have been made to implement the Children First guidelines uniformly throughout the State. I would not expect the Deputy to refer to the positive progress identified by the ombudsman, particularly in reference to the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. She observed that planned steps had been taken to implement the Children First guidelines and that those steps were substantial. She further remarked that it was clear "considerable efforts" were made to implement the guidelines, particularly in the earlier years following its publication, and that the multitude of reviews point to the policy priority accorded their implementation by the Government. She acknowledges that since 2008 considerable progress has been made in trying to tackle what is described as "differential compliance". I adverted to some of those developments in my reply.

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