Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister was the Minister for Health at the time the new agency was set up and its remit transferred from that Department to Tusla. Is he satisfied the new agency was left carry over a deficit? Surely, the new agency should have started off afresh with a blank sheet. That would have sent a clear signal that we want this agency to work.

I accept the issue of legal costs has been ongoing for several years but that does not mean it should not be tackled. In fact, it has not been tackled over the past four years. Two years ago, an article in The Sunday Business Postpointed out the legal fees came to €35 million in 2011 alone, much of which was made up in payments to guardians ad litem. What has been done to tackle these exorbitant legal fees? What were the legal fees for 2011 to 2014, inclusive? Is this issue being tackled and have they been reduced year on year for the past several years?

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