EMERGENCY LEGISLATION to force the Health Service Executive (HSE) to hand over files relating to the death of children while in State care to the Department of Health has been published by the Government.
The legislation also compels the HSE to report any developments of “concern” or “public interest” to the Minister for Health and Children in an effort to strengthen ministerial control over the HSE.
Minister for Children Barry Andrews said yesterday the Health (Amendment) Bill 2010 would be debated by the Dáil next week and should be passed into law before the summer recess.
The Bill extends the powers of the Minister to require in the public interest the HSE to hand over information and documentation free of legal prohibition. It is not restricted to the childcare area but will cover the entire remit of the healthcare services, including care for the elderly, potentially bolstering the Minister’s authority over the HSE.
“The Health (Amendment) Bill is essential to ensure that the work of the Independent Review Group on Child Deaths can proceed in an expeditious manner,” said Mr Andrews.
The Government has published the Bill following the HSE’s refusal to pass its files on child deaths while in care to an independent review group appointed by Mr Andrews in March. The HSE said it was prohibited from passing the files on to the review group due to privacy provisions contained in existing Childcare Acts related to children in care.
The Bill also contains provisions extending the authority of the Minister for Health and Children over the HSE.
In particular, the legislation places a duty on the HSE to provide information to the Minister on its own initiative.
This is in addition to the new power to compel the HSE to provide information requested by the Minister for Health and Children.
Mr Andrews said the independent review group into child deaths had already started its work and had, for example, begun compiling information on international comparisons on deaths of children while in State care.
However, it is expected the review group may struggle to meet a six-month timeframe for publishing its report on child deaths due to the large number of deaths notified by the HSE. Additional resources may be made available to the group.
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A website giving parents the ability to monitor their children’s online activity and block their access to pornography and illegal file sharing has been launched.
The website www.reassureme.com enables parents to download child safety software that enables them to follow their children’s computer activities such as web browsing, instant messaging and social networking.
It also prohibits children from using illegal peer-to-peer software to download music and films.
The parental supervision software costs €49.