Alan Shatter TD as Fine Gael spokesperson for Children has, since his appointment in 2007, campaigned on behalf of Fine Gael for a child centred child care and protection service.

Despite the publication of many reports detailing the inadequacies and failings of our child care and protection services the HSE has been painfully slow in implementing change.  When something goes wrong,   too frequently the reaction is obsessive secrecy, lack of accountability, and no mechanism to determine whether recommendations made to remedy disastrous mistakes which have resulted either in the death of children or lack of timely intervention have been implemented. 

Fine Gael wants to see radical change. As part of that change we demand, where children have died while in the care of the State or shortly after being in care, that an independent body investigates such deaths, that a full report be published to not only detail what went wrong but to ensure the same mistakes are not repeated and that there be an auditing process by way of follow up to audit the remedial action taken on foot of mistakes made.   A similar procedure should be followed where children suffer or their welfare and development is seriously damaged or impaired as a result of a failure on the part of the State to appropriately intervene.    Fine Gael demands that completed reports into any such incidents that occurred in the last 12 years be fully published and that incidents that to date have not been the subject of investigation be investigated.

Barry Andrews TD, Minister for Children, promised at a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Health & Children held on 6^th October 2009 to publish the reports into the deaths of Tracey Fay and David Foley on 19^th October and 21^st October 2009 respectively.  The report in the death of David Foley remains unpublished and, if not for the action of Fine Gael in laying T.F. – A Case Review 1983 – 2002 before the Houses of the Oireachtas the report into the death of Tracey Fay would not be in the public domain.  We demand that the government states what other reports exist on other individuals who have died in the care of the State and that all such reports be published.