Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 582: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the action taken to require the Health Service Executive to comply with its statutory obligations and to publish reports for each of the years 2006 and 2007 with regard to the workings of the childcare services as required under Irish children's legislation. [30905/08]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Section 8 of the Childcare Act 2001 required the then Health Boards to review the adequacy of child care and family support services in their area. This was, and remains, a unique requirement among community based services and serves to highlight the importance placed on these services by Government, and society in general.

The establishment of the Health Service Executive in 2005 necessitated the re-orientation of these Section 8 reports to reflect the new unitary structure. This re-orientation involved, inter alia, the development of a standardised template for compiling the data and producing the reports. This work has now been completed and the report in respect of 2005 has already been published by the HSE this year.

At a recent meeting between myself, officials from my Office and senior HSE Child Welfare and Protection managers, I was informed that the 2006 report is now also complete and its publication by the HSE imminent. Further, the 2007 report is expected to be complete, and published, before the end of this year. Thereafter, I have been informed by the HSE of the expectation that future reports will be produced in a timely fashion.