Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

Yesterday the HSE clarified that 199 children died in care in the ten years up to April 2010. Committee Stage of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill is complete and it is ready to proceed to Report Stage. Its objective is partly to protect children in care and to implement some of the recommendations of the Ryan report. I want clear assurance from the Tánaiste, on behalf of the Government, that this legislation will be prioritised over the vanity projects of the Green Party, including the provision of another layer of bureaucracy in the Dublin area. I want assurance from the party that really leads the Government, not the Green Party. The legislation is about protecting children in care and is extremely important. I want to be absolutely sure that the issue of children in danger of dying in care - there have been 199 deaths in the past ten years - will be prioritised over other issues before the dissolution of this Dáil.

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