I move:
That the report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health and Children following his enquiries into three clinical trials involving residents in children's homes, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 9th November, 2000, be referred to the Joint Com mittee on Health and Children for its consideration.
I appreciate the interest of Members in the report of the chief medical officer. There are two clear issues. The first is the model of subsequent investigation which should take place into the report and the second is the legalities for rounding the powers the Laffoy commission has or may seek, to deal further with the issue.
I firmly believe the Laffoy commission is the best vehicle for the further examination and investigation of this issue. I made that point to the House last week. There is a clear synergie between what the Laffoy commission is currently engaged in and this issue. A strong research team has been built up as well as a secretariat and legal infrastructure. A raft of preparatory work has been undertaken which will be conducive to dealing expeditiously with the issue.
It is wrong to infer, as has been done, that to refer the matter to a commission which was established by the Oireachtas is an attempt to long-finger or bury the matter. My motivation in sending the matter to the Laffoy commission is to make absolutely sure it can be thoroughly and comprehensively dealt with and that no one, least of all the Department, any of its agents, or any of the agencies or health boards which may or may not have been involved, can avoid being questioned about the issue. The suggestion that sending the matter to the Laffoy commission lets someone off the hook defies logic. The commission is a statutorily based inquiry with the capacity to summon health boards or the Department of Health and Children if that is deemed necessary. It is the better model in this instance. The institution was established by the Oireachtas. It is wrong to suggest that people are being devious and I take issue with that suggestion. My motivation is to get to the truth and the Laffoy commission is a guarantee that the truth will be found. It has the capacity to search for the truth and to establish it.
The Labour Party has queried the legality of referring the issues raised in the report to the Laffoy commission. I appreciate the good faith of the Labour Party and I accept that its amendment was intended to be helpful. The advice of the Attorney General on this matter was stated to the House by the Taoiseach earlier this morning.
The Attorney General's advice is that the definition of abuse in the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse Act, 2000, includes any wilful infliction of physical injury or failure to prevent such injury to a child and any failure to care for a child or act or omission towards a child which has serious adverse effects on the child's behaviour or welfare.
In so far as clinical trials are alleged to have been conducted without the appropriate consent and in so far as these trials are alleged to include the use of injections and internasal administration of drugs, quite clearly an issue arises as to whether any such trials amounted in law to an assault or an unlawful invasion of the physical integrity of the children involved. Likewise the consequences of participating in any such trials are matters that relate to the welfare of children. All these issues fall within the scope of the commission as expressed in section 1 of the Act.
The suggestion made by Deputy McManus that acts must be proved to amount to abuse and to have affected the welfare of a child before the commission can inquire into them is erroneous. The wording of the Act, and particularly section 4(1) (b) makes it clear that one of the functions of the commission is to establish whether acts capable of amounting to abuse actually occurred, whether, as a matter of fact, such acts amounted to abuse and what the effect of them was on the children concerned. That is the advice the Government has received.
The Attorney General has also been informed that the Laffoy commission proposes to consider the issues raised by the report as a separate heading within its inquiry and that the commission is considering whether any order under section 4(4) is necessary or appropriate to assist the commission in this respect. It is the Government's intention to consult fully with the commission on that issue, as is envisaged by the Act, and to make any necessary order under section 4(4). If any such order is made it will, of course, require the approval of the House.
The Laffoy commission offers a comprehensive vehicle for dealing expeditiously and rigorously with the totality of the issues involved. The Government motion proposes to refer the report to the Joint Committee on Health and Children for its consideration. The joint committee may wish to raise other issues. That is a matter for the committee.