Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I support the call for a debate on the future of Aer Lingus. As Senator Finucane correctly pointed out, it is more than four months since its chief executive resigned in controversial circumstances and a decision on his replacement has not been made. Time is of the essence. The future viability of the company will be undermined unless a decision is made.

I refer to the issue of children who are taken into care. I was contacted by a woman earlier who has been through the wringer over the past year because a spurious allegation was made against her that her children were being abused and neglected. She asked what redress was open to her given that, at the end of the day, she has gone through a year of turmoil and upset but the person who made the allegation cannot be named by the authorities. While the correct procedures are in place, unfortunately great upset is being caused by such allegations, which are made by people who may lack information or who may not like the individuals about whom they complain. The Minister for Health and Children should come to the House to outline what procedures need to be changed to ensure this will not happen again.