Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I welcome this first Question Time on children and children's rights. I commend the Minister on taking this first major step.

At last week's Joint Committee on Health and Children, the Minister committed to introducing wording along the lines of that contained in the final report of the Joint Committee on the Constitution from February 2010. The period between February 2010 and February 2011 provided the former Government and the permanent government of various Departments an opportunity to evaluate properly the wording presented by the committee.

In the short time the Minister has had to engage with her new Department and other Departments, has she had the opportunity to establish how much of the all-party committee's wording was acceptable? What were the concerns about it? Does she believe she can introduce a wording that will mirror that of the all-party committee? Are there concerns in the Office of the Attorney General and other Departments about the all-party committee's wording? There may have been changes at the helm of Departments but those entrusted with the evaluation of the wording are still in their jobs and working on it. I would expect that 17 months after the publication of the wording there must be some greater clarity coming back from Departments.

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