Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I have in my hand a document showing that the owner of the company being investigated for the alleged falsifying of vetting documents, which received millions of euro from the State for the unregulated care of vulnerable children, was on the same committee as the Minister back when the Minister was a councillor in his constituency. The Minister and Mr. Paul Reid, who went on to become the CEO of the HSE, sat on a joint policing committee with this individual quarter after quarter.

Has the Minister ever spoken to him about the provision of care? Second, why is he underfunding the voluntary and regulated sectors? That is at the heart of this situation. They cannot provide the necessary places because they are underfunded. We are pumping astronomical money into dodgy profit-motivated companies with poorer, unregulated services at a huge economic cost. Will the Minister meet the voluntary and regulated sectors to discuss these concerns?

Finally, given the number of times the Minister has been warned about the dangers of these arrangements and that his Department shredded warning reports from a judge; given that whistleblowers were ignored on this issue and are only being taken seriously now that it has appeared on the front page of a newspaper, is this not a resigning matter for him?

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