Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

-----to be forwarded to the review group so that it could deal with the matters he outlined to it. The HSE has advised the Minister of State that it will take it until the end of June to complete an accurate and consistent list of deaths of children in care in that respect. That is the information that is available to the Minister of State and its work is ongoing. I agree I would rather have that information to hand immediately. The collation and recording of this information is not what one would have expected but that is the situation.

On the separate matter of ensuring the provision of whatever information is required by Mr. Shannon and Ms Gibbons, in discussions between departmental officials, the Attorney General's office and the HSE after the Government's meeting this morning, it was decided the HSE would provide factual information requested by the review group as a matter of urgency and no later than Friday of this week in respect of previously identified deaths of children in care known to the HSE. To allow this exchange of information between the HSE and the Department, the sharing of which might otherwise be legally restricted, a legislative amendment is required. That amending legislation will be brought forward as a matter of urgency.

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