Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the publication of the sixth report of the special rapporteur on child protection by Dr. Geoffrey Shannon and his reappointment as the sole special rapporteur on child protection by the Government. Everybody should read the report. Dr. Shannon gives an invaluable service to the State. He gives a voice to children and, for example, this year's report deals with the law on guardianship and bullying. It also covers issues that are very relevant and which we discuss every day in the Seanad such as children seeking asylum in Ireland and child abuse material on the Internet. Dr. Shannon endorses a proposal I made last week during the debate on the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013 with regard to disclosure requests for children's private and confidential therapy notes.

However, I raise the matter because I only discovered the report was published on last night's "Six-One News". The Minister's press release states clearly that the rapporteur is accountable to the Oireachtas. It also states that the functions of the special rapporteur include:

To prepare, annually, a report setting out the results of the previous year's work. This report will be submitted to the Dáil and Seanad for consideration and debate and be published.

When will we have the debate on this report by the special rapporteur on child protection? I suggest that we should invite Dr. Shannon to appear before the House to have a comprehensive debate on child protection because children are so often voiceless on these issues. Last year the fifth report was published as we went into summer recess. It is all too coincidental that the report gets published on a busy news day. I ask my colleagues to continue to raise the report until we have a comprehensive debate.