Opposition rejects amendment call

Opposition parties have rejected Government claims that emergency legislation is needed to get information from the Health Service Executive (HSE) about children who have died in State care.

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today, Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny said that under the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) Amendment Act 2000, there is an obligation in law for agencies such as the HSE to report "adverse incidents" to the Clinical Indemnity Scheme.

"My contention is that in requiring the information about the numbers who have died, emergency legislation is not necessary. You should have been able to inform the house of the numbers as a consequence because that information would have been transmitted to the Clinical Indemnity Scheme by law," said Mr Kenny.

"These powers have been here since 2000. Now, either you didn't know, which is incompetence or you did know, which amounts to a cover-up. Which is it?"

Taoiseach BrianCowen said the Clinical Indemnity Scheme only covered incidents which had occurred in hospitals and was therefore not applicable.

Mr Cowen informed the Dáil yesterday the Government will have to rush through an urgent amendment to the Child Care Act to allow an independent inquiry get access to files on the deaths of children in State care.

"There are other legal provisions that impinge on the privacy of the individual, their circumstances, there are certain consent requirements etc, this is not a simple area of law and it must be dealt with properly," he said this morning.  "What we have decided is that the simple way, the best way of doing this to give legal certainty and to provide the necessary information for the review group is to bring forward a change in the law which allows for the exchange of information between the HSE and the Department of Health that will enable this group to get on with their work...that is the best way in which to deal with this matter, " he added.

The Taoiseach admitted in the Dáil yesterday that the HSE had been unable to tell the Government how many children had died in State care and would not be in a position to compile a full list until the end of June. The official figure given by the HSE up to the end of 2009 was 23 but Minister for Children Barry Andrews this week admitted the number may be higher.

The HSE has said media reports at the weekend claiming that as many as 200 have died in care "were based on speculation".

This morning, Mr Cowen said it was clear the collation of information had been inadequate in the past. He said he was "as unhappy about this as anyone else."

Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said regardless of the legal issues detailed by the Taoiseach, he did not understand why the Government was still not in a position to tell the Dáil the exact number of deaths.

"If it is as high as 200 then that is a level of mortality among children in care which is about ten to twelve times the level of mortality in the wider population which would be quite an extraordinary state of affairs," said Mr Gilmore.

Mr Gilmore also questioned the need for new legislation saying that the Coroner's Bill 2007, which has yet to be enacted and the Commission of Investigation Act 2004 already enabled information to be exchanged.

However, Mr Cowen said both pieces of legislation cited by Mr Gilmore failed to adequately deal with the issue, adding that the Government "was looking for the fastest possible resolution to the problem"