Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 209: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason a Health Service Executive audit of children who died in State care will only consider the past ten years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41079/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Independent Review Group on Child Deaths was established by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on March 8th 2010 .

The Group was asked to examine certain child deaths and to:

- provide on an anonymised basis key summary information regarding each child and the circumstances leading up to their death;

- focus, in particular, on the relevant involvement of State services with the child and his/her family;

- examine the strengths and weaknesses of such involvement,

- in so far as lessons were or can be identified from these reports/reviews, including common issues presenting, make recommendations as to how child protection responses can be strengthened; and if considered useful, comment on the nature of the reports/reviews available for its consideration

The aim of the Group is to inform future practice and policy development in relation to child welfare and protection and to make recommendations on how child protection can strengthened. Given that the work of the group relates to key learning, it was not felt that it would be helpful to undertake an examination of cases more than 10 years old.

The Group's Report will be presented to the Minister who will lay the document before the Houses of the Oireachtas and publish it.