Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Why have seven recommendations been blacked out from the Monageer report? What does that state about Members' role in society regarding the protection of young children? Does the blacking out of 37 pages mean that next December, the Government will black out the pages of the budget that it does not wish Members to read? Is that what will happen next? I hope not because this issue pertains to children and, collectively, Members have a moral obligation to be responsible in this regard. The blacking out of recommendations is not the way forward. Why will the Minister of State with responsibility for children not allow the provision of an out-of-hours service for social workers? Surely emergency services, not cutbacks, should be put in place in that respect.