Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the extended nature of his reply and his understanding of the issue. In the past couple of days, I received notice from Tusla to the effect that I would not be allowed to attend a case conference because there was an objection. That was a surprise because my only interest in it was to ensure that the rights of the child and parents were preserved. Over the years, like the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I have attended the Royal Courts of Justice and most other courts, including the family law courts, to give evidence on behalf of what I believed were deserving cases. I was always welcomed and I did not lose in my intervention either. The position now remains for Tusla to exert itself in such a way as to ensure that, without doubt, we are absolutely assured of its intention to preserve and assert, in all circumstances, the rights of the child in these particular circumstances.

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