Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No. What I said was at the end of the year there were recommendations specifically on this. The familicide report does not set how one does this. The Deputy is suggesting that there would be an automatic removal of guardianship. To do that would impact on the cases that I am speaking about. We need to have an understanding of the individual cases. For that we need to change the structure itself and that is what I am looking at. The family justice strategy speaks of the need to have the voice of the child inserted it into any of the cases and that does not happen at the moment. That work is under way. Separately, the work looking at the in camera rule is already being done and how that can continue abuse into the courts. It also means that there is information that might be available through a criminal trial that is not being translated into a civil case where guardianship is going on. We need to make sure that the structures are talking to each other, that the individual cases are understood, that the history of the cases are understood and that informed decisions can be taken. Because of the structures as they exist now that is not possible and this is why I am changing them. This is why all of this work is being done. There are no reports being sat on. All of this is progressing. On this specific issue I am absolutely committed to making progress in this area. I am working with families in this regard who are supporting that change. We need to get it right because it is complex. I hope by the end of the year I will have a very clear direction as to how we can do that.

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