Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I add my voice to those which have expressed sincere regrets that the family in question were subject to such trauma. It is important, however, that we do not add to their burden, recognise the abuse that happened, learn from it and hold people accountable. We do not need to nitpick over the details in such a manner. It is important that we expedite the holding of the referendum. In that regard, I ask for a debate on the status of the Child Care Act to find out to what extent its provisions have been developed and implemented. For example, where parents are unable to cope with children, there is provision for the teaching of parenting skills and other interventions, with social workers being on hand in particular cases. I am not referring directly to the case that will be before the House this afternoon, but rather to the implementation of the Child Care Act in general. Have we seen full intervention by the agencies which can help to support children because, unfortunately, this is not an isolated case? There are various forms of domestic violence and next month for a period of 15 days we will seek to increase the level of awareness in that regard. I want to pre-empt this by saying we need to hold a debate on the issue. It is important that we learn from what went on, find mechanisms to fully implement the provisions of the Child Care Act and hold the referendum. Nothing we do today should add to the personal trauma of the family involved.