The legal definition of the purpose and function of the Section 8 Report is set out in the Child Care Act, 1991.
The Report for 2008 is the latest Section 8 Report submitted. I laid that Report before the Houses of the Oireachtas in October 2009.
Having regard to the recommendations of the Commission to Inquire into Child
Abuse, officials from my Office met with the HSE earlier this year to discuss how the Section 8 Report could be enhanced and how the information now becoming available can be used in HSE performance reports submitted to the Department. I want future Section 8 Reports to demonstrate the Health Service Executive's ability to evaluate its own services, so the report has to contain not only data and descriptive information, but also good analysis of this. The report should be of use to the HSE itself in evaluating its year's work and identifying what has been achieved, what is working well and what is problematic or insufficient. I also want some indication in the report of how resources have been used by the HSE and to what effect; what the staffing situation is; and as much emphasis on Family Support as on Child Protection and Child Care.
A template for the drafting of future Section 8 Reports has now been agreed with the HSE and I expect to be provided with the 2009 Section 8 Report by the end of this year. It has also been agreed that future reports will be produced in a timely fashion.