Vol. 461 No. 3
2 Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn asked the Minister for Health if he will publish the full findings of the investigation into the Kelly Fitzgerald case; the other reports of investigations, if any, into child abuse which have not been published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2770/96]
12 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Health when he will be in a position to outline the current position in relation to the report on Madonna House, Dublin in view of the urgent consultations he had with the Attorney General on the question of legislation to permit the publication of such reports. [2727/96]
14 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Health the status of the inquiry which he ordered into the Western Health Board's handling of the Kelly Fitzgerald case; the reason it took so long to report and publish the findings of this inquiry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2728/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 2, 12 and 14 together.
The position in relation to the Kelly Fitzgerald case is that following the completion of the inquest in London into the death of the late Kelly Fitzgerald, the chief executive officer of the Western Health Board appointed an independent team to examine the Western Health Board's involvement with the child and her family. I understand that the chief executive officer is taking legal advice as to whether he can publish the report which has been completed by the inquiry team. I wish to make it clear to the House that neither I nor my colleague the Minister for Health has seen this report.
With regard to the investigation into the operation of Madonna House which was commissioned by the Sisters of Charity, I have already indicated to the House the report of this investigation was referred for legal advice with a view to determining how much of it could be published, without undue risk of legal complications. In the light of the legal advice available to me on this matter my Department is preparing a report on the investigation. This report will be ready shortly for referral to the Attorney General for clearance to publish.
As I already indicated to the House, I am committed to putting as much as possible of the report in the public domain. However, I cannot proceed unless I am advised that what I propose to do conforms with the law. I have previously stated that I am examining what legislative changes may be necessary to ensure that similar reports may in future be published without fear of legal proceedings.
I think it is important to stress that, notwithstanding these legal problems, considerable improvements have been made in the provision of child care services. Since 1993, the year in which the Kilkenny incest report was published, in the region of £30 million on an annualised basis has been invested in the development of new child care and family support services. The scale of this investment is unprecedented and is specifically designed to ensure that a proper infrastructure to support the Child Care Act is in place and that the health boards are equipped with the resources required to enable them to cope with the new demands imposed on them under the legislation. A range of new services and facilities have been put in place in each health board area and some 850 new posts have been approved for the child care services. Funding has also been made available to the boards for the training of front line staff who are involved in the operation of the new statutory provisions.
I should also mention that the Health Estimate for 1996 includes provision for a further round of new service developments in the child care area.
The Minister of State states in his reply that neither he nor the Minister for Health has seen the report on Kelly Fitzgerald and, of course, I accept that but has an official in his Department seen it? The chief executive officer of the Western Health Board stated he would have no difficulty in publishing the report provided the legal advice available was that this could be done. Will the Minister of State say whether his Department has been involved in the provision of legal advice to the health board? Is the Minister convinced there is not public confidence in independent inquiries of cases in health boards where health board officials and staff may well be involved? Is it not high time for the Department to establish, what we have called for, an independent child care inspectorate?
Yesterday, in reply to Deputy Frances Fitzgerald's question on this matter, I said it is my strong wish that the results of the inquiry be made public at the earliest possible moment and I have made my views known to the chief executive officer. Part of the problem is that none of the three reports referred to is the responsibility directly of my Department. Two are the responsibility of health boards and the other was initiated by the Sisters of Charity. Obviously, if one is to devolve responsibilities one has to be careful about the extent of one's interference. I have given careful consideration to this matter.
In response to the other questions, I have not seen the report, my colleague, the Minister for Health, has not seen the report and, as far as I am aware, none of my officials has seen it.
When will legally binding Protocols be introduced for health boards in child care cases? When is it proposed for the Minister's interdepartmental committee to report on mandatory reporting? Does the Minister believe that other health boards could learn many valuable lessons from the publication of reports, such as the Kelly Fitzgerald report.
I will refer to mandatory reporting in reply to the next question.
