Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senators for the generous welcome they have given this legislation. Senator Henry took us to Torremolinos in her contribution which is not a bad point of departure for my reply.

When a child is taken into care, social workers are involved on behalf of the Health Service Executive. In that position, that child is in the care of the executive and it acts as the parent. Therefore, it is the Health Service Executive, through the social workers, that must decide whether the child can go to Torremolinos, have a passport or have an essential medical operation. In some cases, the social workers or their superiors in the Health Service Executive do not have the confidence to make these decisions without further recourse to the courts. This is a difficult position in which to put a foster parent when a child is in foster care for a substantial period. I will study carefully what Senators have said about the relevant period, but I had to make a judgment on the appropriate period because there are also short-term arrangements in operation. It would be inappropriate to attach to the parent in such a position the full powers of the Health Service Executive.

This legislation allows the Health Service Executive and the foster parent to go to court and obtain sanction to give the foster parent all the powers of a parent. It is quite a radical step in terms of current legal and constitutional arrangements and a balance must be struck as to how many years must be experienced by the parents before they are empowered to that extent.