Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 25:

In page 24, to delete lines 40 to 47 and in page 25, to delete lines 1 to 3.

This amendment seeks to achieve a balance between the substantial powers vested in the Health Service Executive, HSE, by the legislation and the rights and needs of children in care. It is necessary to mention the subtitle of the recent HSE report, Putting Children First, and meaning it. If this section is left unchanged then serious questions arise about the lack of consultation with a child in special care or his or her parents and-or guardians. This section allows the HSE to bypass consultation with the child, the child's parents and-or guardian and a person acting in loco parentis. It can do that if it is satisfied there is reasonable cause to believe it is not in the best interests of a child to consult those people. Placing children in care is a serious matter and, where possible, one should seek at all times to consult parents, guardians and the children concerned.

The recent HSE report concluded that there is an urgent requirement to set and communicate direction for child care services. It asks the question of what the HSE is fundamentally trying to achieve for children and their families and what child protection means, whether it is about managing risk and investigating alleged abuse or more about providing the supports needed for children and their families. I argue it is about the latter. Any legislation that allows the HSE the option of completely excluding the child, a parent, guardian or person acting in loco parentis from proceedings is leading us completely down the wrong path. This provision could be open to abuse and the lack of consistency in approach nationally, as highlighted in the recent HSE report, only compounds my fears. I seek to delete the provision for that reason. It is important to keep communications with all the parties involved open as much as possible rather than simply bypassing them.