Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can answer one of the Deputy's questions by telling her that the board has communicated with the authors of the report. On the issue more broadly, I assure the House that the Government is absolutely committed to improving child protection in Ireland. We have established a Department of Children and Youth Affairs with a dedicated Minister at the Cabinet table. We have amended our Constitution to enshrine the rights of children in it. We have put Children First on a statutory footing. Last year, after many years, we successfully introduced mandatory reporting of child abuse. When I say that a great deal of progress is being made in this area, I do not mean for a second to diminish in any way the seriousness of the issues at Oberstown which the Deputy has rightly raised.

See this speech in context