Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Is there more the Minister of State has to do to ensure that there is a substantive legislative basis in this area in addition to the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2011? Are the national special care admission and discharge criteria used by social workers to assess children known to the Minister of State and in the public domain? The Minister of State mentioned children who have been referred to special care units in Scotland and Sweden. Are there children who are abroad at the moment and what kind of resources has the State spent on their care? Did the Minister of State ask for additional resources in the 2013 budget to deal with the critical needs of these children?

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