Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I welcome the statements on the child care inquiry report. As one who deals with social workers on child care issues, I fully understand this area can be extremely emotional, especially when there are family problems between parents. It can be very stressful for both the social workers and the families involved and is fraught with ethical and legal problems. Rather than the House merely having a discussion about this report and the inquiry and what went wrong in regard to this family, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, should come to the House and give a detailed overview of social work services. Concerns have been expressed in other parts of the country that there are not enough social workers or back-up services to provide other psychological supports to young children at risk. We need the presence of the Minister to discuss the broader issues around this report and what is happening throughout the country.

I also welcome the debate the House will have on the economy and hope the Minister for Finance, Deputy Lenihan, will be able to attend and provide a more detailed report as to what will happen in the weeks before the budget is announced. There is a great deal of fear among the public about what may be coming down the tracks. They need to know the facts soon. There is no point in continuing the charade of having big announcements on budget day. We must prepare the people for the severity of the cuts that are coming and they need to know what these are now.