Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

We have discussed a number of times in this House services for children. Yesterday we had the publication of the Monageer report, which was only published in part. Will the Leader take a message back from this House to Government that we want to see this report published in full? We had a similar situation previously when the Kelly Fitzgerald report was published. Initially, it was not published in full but then it was published through the mechanism of being sent to a committee of the Houses and it was then placed in the Oireachtas Library. The same should happen in this case. If we are to learn anything from the lessons of the past about protecting children in this country it is that co-ordinated action is required between agencies. It is clear this family was known to the authorities over a long period.

A range of organisations, agencies and individuals were involved with the family from a very early stage. It is extraordinary that after ten years of the Celtic tiger, we do not have the basic child care services in place with the co-ordination that is necessary to give families such as this the supports they need to prevent the terrible tragedy that we have seen. We certainly need to debate that in this House and I ask for an early debate on child protection services.

There is a front page story in The Irish Times today which states that cases involving severe abuse are not being allocated because there is a shortage of social workers and that the files are remaining on the shelves of offices throughout the country. That is extraordinary. Where has the priority been for the past ten years of the Celtic tiger if we cannot provide basic child care services for vulnerable families? We have yet another report outlining deficiencies. Heads have rolled in England when this has happened. There is no accountability in this country for the lack of services to these families over the past ten years. The Government puts its money where its mouth is, and if it is not put into child care, that is an absolute dereliction of duty. I want this issue debated in this House as soon as possible.

We have a report this morning from exporters. I spoke yesterday about the report from small businesses. The key point is the lack of competitiveness in this economy. Senators from all sides of the House have called for a debate on competitiveness. There is an absolute necessity to become more competitive if we are to retain jobs.

I ask the Leader to convey to the Minister for Foreign Affairs the disquiet of this House about what has happened to Aung San Suu Kyi, with the continuation of her 19 year confinement in Burma and the trial she is undergoing once again. What is happening to that woman and the length of time she is being kept in isolation is an outrageous abuse of human rights.