Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As I have said, I cannot get into the detail of the legislation now being prepared. I remind the House that the review group has been asked to examine existing information on all deaths of children in care over the past ten years. It will produce an overall report for publication which includes, on an anonymised basis, key summary information regarding each child and the circumstances leading up to his or her death. That is what the review group has been asked to do. We will ensure that amending legislation gives a legal basis to the exchange of information between the HSE and the Department, the sharing of which might otherwise be legally restricted. We will ensure that all the necessary information is available to the review group, so that those who have been asked to carry out this task can do so in a manner that is fit for purpose.

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