Deputies will also have read in the press today the comments of the Ombudsman for Children on the Bill. By way of background, I should explain that, given the important role that the Ombudsman for Children plays in the child care area, I arranged for her to have a copy of the draft Bill and my officials offered her a briefing also in advance of publication. I received her detailed comments last week and they have been considered carefully in my office. As her paper makes clear, she acknowledges that some of the issues she raised were never intended to be addressed in the Bill. However, the Ombudsman for Children made certain points relevant to the Bill and the independent review group that I wish to address directly. She queried the independence of the review group in the sense that it is the Minister rather than the review group which sources information and documents from the HSE.

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