Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply, which shows she is well aware of the realities of the direct provision system and the challenges they present. The fact that she has visited a centre gives me great hope that she will be in a good position to address the problems in the system. Nevertheless, I hold fast to the view that the subcontracting out of the inspection regime to the private sector does not offer sufficient protections and that it should be brought under the auspices of the Health Information and Quality Authority. It is clear that the Minister recognises what needs to be done to tackle this issue, including the necessary legislative changes. Moreover, she seems keenly aware of the damage caused when children spend years in these types of settings. There is no requirement to for that point to be reinforced.

Will the Minister indicate the type of timeline she envisages for the legislative measures to which she referred? Can she give a commitment that we will revisit this issue in a structured and timetabled fashion rather than discussing it on the basis of media reports or by way of a Topical Issue debate or parliamentary question? Will she give a further undertaking to the House that in the time left to this Government, be it two years or less, reform of the direct provision system will be a priority? We should be able, at the end of our term in government, to say we have made solid progress for the sake of the children and families involved. We should be in a position to point to the steps we have taken and the results achieved.

We should at least be able to say we did that much for these vulnerable children. These children are not lesser. They are living in this republic, and that means something. After all that has happened in this country, we have a deep understanding of the trauma and long-term damage that can be done to children if there is not a proper focus on their social, emotional and educational needs at this vulnerable time in their lives. To summarise, I am asking the Minister to elaborate on the potential for HIQA to step in as inspector and, second, to give a timetable for nailing down the improvements in this area to which the Minister is clearly committed to driving forward.

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