Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

Yes, possibly with Deputy Feighan.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to these statements on the floor of Dáil Éireann on the first annual report of the national review panel on serious incidents including the death of children in care. It is appropriate that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs acknowledged that debating these issues of reports arising from times when the State and other institutions failed to protect children must be extremely painful and difficult for families affected. However, I hope they can take some comfort in the knowledge that at least as a State we are now facing up to the neglect of the past, acknowledging the mistakes that have taken place and trying to move forward and ensuring that never again will we live in a country where child protection issues are brushed under the mat and not discussed.

What this raft of reports has done to the Irish psyche and the psyche of many parents across this country is damage their belief in the State. The job the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, this Government, this Oireachtas and the broader State is charged with is restoring trust and confidence in any of the services to do with child protection. That is a crucial point.

For as long as I can remember politics in this country has been dominated by the economy. In the boom years we were assessing the wealth of this nation in terms of the number of sun holidays the average family could take, the year of the car or cars in the driveway and the amount of money in one's bank account. We measured our national wealth in crude economic terms alone while at the same time many issues regarding child protection were ignored and the voices of children silenced at a time when this country had more money than sense. As we set about now rebuilding our economy we must remember and place at the forefront of all public discourse that repairing our economy is not an end in itself but merely a means to an end. It is a method of ensuring that as a nation we have the means to invest in our most important asset, our children, who are this country's future. We saw millions, and probably billions, of euro squandered and lost, something to which my colleague, Deputy Buttimer, alluded earlier. E-voting, the Bertie bowl and PPARS are just some of the words that ring in the ears of citizens when they consider the mistakes of the past.

One can only reflect, and someone in the position of the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, must reflect on this regularly, on how those public funds could have been put to much better use. That is the Minister's legacy and any time there appears to be any type of difficulty, figures or reports she comes in for robust criticism from the Opposition, particularly from the previous Government. That criticism is superficial and hypocritical at best. At a time when this country was wealthy action was not taken. The Minister has achieved more in the past eight months while this country is in receivership - effectively in the ownership of the IMF and the ECB - than others achieved in 14 years and it is important to put that on the record of this House.

The Minister is now leading the first ever Cabinet level Department specifically and exclusively charged with children and their interests, needs and safety. That sends out an important message about this country, this Government and our ethos and attitude towards children.

Much has happened to date and one of the most important things, in terms of sending out a message that there is a new regime in charge and that we are taking a different approach to this area, is when the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, made the decision to personally chair the group implementing the recommendations from the Ryan report. We all remember the widespread and rightful anger, hurt and upset upon the publication of the Ryan report but it is very easy for that anger to dissipate as time passes. What is much more important and responsible is for somebody to politically take charge, chair the committee and take personal and political responsibility for action. That would be a new departure.

It is also important to note that the two pilot projects on out of hours services in both Donegal and Cork are now in place. I hope they continue, that the referendum is progressing and that much work is being done behind the scenes on that. The Minister has acted on those issues and that gives me the confidence, as a Government Deputy, to believe she will act on the recommendations of this annual report also. The recommendations refer to the standardisation of assessment and inter-agency work and much of the Minister's legislative agenda and putting those on a statutory footing will go some way towards meeting those recommendations.

Great praise must be given to Dr. Buckley and her colleagues who carried out this piece of work. The Tánaiste made a comment not long ago in Government Buildings when launching the review of various public sector bodies about the vilification of public servants in the past by the previous Government. This report tells us that in many cases good practice was being followed. There were good, decent people doing their very best in very difficult circumstances and they were let down by a lack of inter-agency co-operation, a lack of information sharing and a lack of standardisation in the way problems were dealt with, received and reported. There are good people working in the area of child protection and that must be acknowledged because now more than ever we need the morale of those people to be high. We need them to put their shoulder to the wheel and I am confident they will do that. It is important that we do not personally vilify people who have been professionally charged. There is an accountability issue but the problems in the area of child protection go much wider than any individual.

We hear a great deal about red herrings when it comes to child protection, and the seal of the confessional was one of those. As a Government and an Oireachtas I urge that we debunk every red herring thrown at us. We have seen in the past the way referenda can be defeated. We should make sure that when the referendum on children's rights is put before the people we debunk all the myths. There is no evidence to suggest that children's rights counteract parental rights. We should be able to secure broad political and societal support for a referendum on children's rights and I hope we do so. I concur with colleagues that it is vital the referendum is held as a matter of urgency but it should not be held one moment before the proper wording has been agreed. We will not have a second chance, as was the case with previous referendums. The Minister is seeking an important constitutional change and will only have one go at securing it.

Clearly, the Minister and her Department will uncover more examples of neglect and State failure. They would probably not be doing their job if did not find more such cases. For a long time, such failures were brushed under the carpet, concealed and not talked about. I expect we will go through a difficult period in which we will learn of more cases that disgust and appal us. We should be encouraged and enthused, however, given that the issue if finally being addressed.

I will pick up on a point made by Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan on the Ombudsman for Children because we need to learn an important lesson in this regard. A small group of children still does not have access to the services of the Ombudsman for Children. The Minister and her colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Quinn, have stated in the Chamber and in reply to written parliamentary questions that they will examine the possibility of extending the remit of the Ombudsman for Children to vulnerable children who interact with the National Council for Special Education. The inability of the Ombudsman for Children to interact with children detained in St. Patrick's Institution is another bizarre anomaly. I ask the Minister to have her officials examine this issue, which has been flagged by the Ombudsman for Children and should be rectified.

This is an exciting time in politics because children and youth affairs is finally being prioritised. This area is no longer covered by a super junior Ministry or committee chairmanship but by a Cabinet level Minister who sits alongside all other senior Ministers. I concur with Deputy Jonathan O'Brien that it is crucial that the Minister is given the resources and supports in Cabinet to fulfil her role. The Taoiseach's decision to establish the Department is an indication of the importance he attaches to it. I wish the Minister well and thank her for her work to date. It is essential that we proceed with the legislative changes required and the referendum on children's rights as quickly as possible. I hope the quick action taken by the Minister and the political accountability she has shown in the past eight months are enhanced, maintained and encouraged.

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