Phil Prendergast (Labour)

The Minister of State has been bombarded with all these questions. It can sometimes appear that everything is his fault and that nothing will improve, no matter how much money is invested. I am concerned that social workers were not willing to speak out publicly about their concerns. There should be a system in place in order that they would not feel obliged to speak behind screens. I accept a child might be identified if the social worker is known and we must not identify people unnecessarily, but I worry about concealing identities for retrospective deliberations on services such as that which existed in Wexford.

Is there cross-departmental co-operation in the search for those missing children? This issue needs serious consideration. I thank the Minister of State for his attention over the past couple of hours.