Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Section 37 of the Child Care Act 1991 relates to access to children in care. It provides that where a child is in the care of the Health Service Executive, either under a care order or otherwise, the executive will facilitate reasonable access to the child by his parents, any person acting in loco parentis or any person with a bona fide interest. It also provides that a person who is dissatisfied with the arrangements made by the executive may apply to the court and the court may make an order in regard to access and vary or discharge the order on the application of any person. The Health Service Executive if it considers it necessary to safeguard a child or promote a child's welfare can apply to the court for an order authorising the executive to refuse a named person access to a child in its care.

In the context of this wording, notwithstanding that subsection 2(10) provides that the new sections that are being inserted into the Child Care Act 1991 by the Bill are without prejudice to any other provisions of the Act which assigned functions to the HSE, I have considered the issue further and wish to propose a new Government amendment No. 18 which addresses the concern raised by Senator Tuffy in her amendment No. 17, already discussed, and inserts a new section into subsection (10). That provides that subsection (10) "is without prejudice to the jurisdiction of the court to make, at any time, an order under section 37 with respect to access to the child or to vary or discharge such an order, including an order continued or varied pursuant to that subsection." This amendment will allow for new access arrangements to be made or existing access arrangements to be varied after an order under this section has been made and also brings into force by implication the standing of the various parties referred to in the original access section.