Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What happened in these cases is a far cry from what we expect from our State child care and support services. Everybody is clearly of this view. Under the Child Care Act 1991 the Garda Síochána must, as referred to by the Minister, have reasonable grounds to believe there is an immediate and serious risk. I am disappointed to hear that the Minister has not yet received a copy of the Garda report, which is referred to in some detail in the media. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, has received the report and was able to elucidate on it. I believe the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, should seek receipt of the report as a matter of urgency. It is important that the HSE and Garda Síochána reports are looked at together.

I am anxious to know the reasonable grounds on which it was believed that the children in these cases were at risk or in danger. These are serious questions. I understand there were other children involved in one, if not both, cases. Why were those children not taken into care? Why were only those children who had a particular hair or eye colour as the case might be taken into care? While I agree that we must await the report and recommendations of the Ombudsman for Children, Ms Emily Logan, we must not delay in making it clear to those who are responsible at the coalface of dealing with cases such as this that the required test in this particular instance could have been undertaken without taking the children from their homes and parents. What immediate steps has the Minister taken to ensure there will be no recurrence of such dreadful cases as these?

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