Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The bulk of Senator Tuffy's comments are addressed by the Government amendment on access. The principal Act's access arrangements are expressly provided in this legislation. The Parliamentary Counsel was concerned that their implication was not sufficient on a matter as fundamental as access. As Senator Tuffy pointed out, it is an area where a wider range of parties is expressly recognised in the legislation. Senator Tuffy asks, given that this issue is addressed, why those parties do not have a wider right to participate in these proceedings. I return to the earlier discussion we had and make the point that under the Constitution and otherwise, the courts and the HSE, in exercising its functions under the legislation, must have regard for parents. Senator Tuffy seems to lean towards giving a wide range of parties an express right to be notified of proceedings of this character.

Although I addressed this issue earlier in discussing the responsibilities of the HSE and its social workers under this legislation, I would like to put another consideration before the Senator. It has been my experience as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for children that one of the great problems with children in difficulties before the court is that too many parties, and especially too many legal representatives, appear in these cases and that there is not enough focus on the need to provide services for these children. A great number of parties appear, whether under the guise of guardians ad litem or as their legal representatives, who purport to express a view on the welfare of the child without providing a service. It is my firm conviction that Government agencies, whether the HSE or the newly established Youth Justice Service, have to take responsibility for children and be heard on this subject. Many of the changes to the Children Act were directed to this end. I have reservations about the proliferation of parties appearing in cases in connection with children's welfare in the courts, especially when legal representation is engaged on their behalf. The bill for this is footed by the Exchequer. Money is paid to the legal profession, not diverted to where it is needed, to provide services for these difficult children.