Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. He spoke about a review but that review has clearly been prejudiced. Any report on the system has clearly been prejudiced by the interview in the Business Post. I acknowledged a briefing note was provided to Michael Brennan and prepared by civil servants but Mr. Brennan was going to publish it. As a result of this, the Minister has adopted a scorched-earth approach, beginning a Borg-like attack on the childcare system and creating yet another monster like Irish Water. The approach is taking away the on-the-ground structures. The old water departments in the councils knew what they were doing. We are now creating a giant of a body that will not. How can anyone have confidence in the independence of the review if it has been prejudiced from the get-go?

When he was proceeding in the way that he did, did the Minister think about the professionals who were reading his remarks without his having engaged with them? Imagine if the Minister saw an article by the Taoiseach in the Sunday newspapers in which he wanted the Minister gone in the belief that he was not providing the consistency sought by the Taoiseach's office, thus echoing the words used by the Department about the professionals, without having a chat with him. It would not be nice to read when listening to "Sunday with Miriam" and eating one's corn flakes. I ask the Minister to think for a moment about the thousands of professionals who had that very experience two weeks ago as a result of the interview, and about the hurt it caused in the profession. I ask him to acknowledge that.