THE Minister for Health has said he will not "rush to judgment" in the Kelly Fitzgerald case, following the release to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Family of the report into her death.
The report of the inquiry team, set up by the Western Health Board following her death in a London hospital after months of abuse and neglect at the hands of her parents in Co Mayo, was made available on Wednesday to the committee.
Mr Noonan said yesterday the Western Health Board had said the report "was not accurate in all respects". It would be putting ford ward its side of the story, he said, and this would be put before the committee also.
The Western Health Board yesterday announced the preparation of its response to the report of the inquiry team. The board had decided this report should be examined and "proposals for action prepared following consultation with the relevant staff", it said in a statement. "It is also intended to correct substantial misapprehensions which have arisen as a result of the report."
At a press conference yesterday the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, said that Kelly Fitzgerald "died in very tragic circumstances. She was at risk for most of her life. She was not in this, jurisdiction for most of her life.a Both her parents were convicted and served sentences."
Referring to the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding her death, in particular the response of the local health board, he said: "The Government decided the best way to proceed to avoid legal difficulties was to put lit into the appropriate committee for discussion, in this instance, the Committee on the Family.
"I asked the chairman of that committee, Paul McGrath, to examine it with a view to recommending changes to the law that might be necessary."
However, he added, the Child Care Act had not been implemented when Kelly Fitzgerald died, and professionals did not have the legal protections they have now. What happened had to be seen in the context of the law at the time. The Child Care Act would be fully implemented this year, at a cost of £37 million.
He would wait for the committee to discuss it, and the Western Health Board's comments, and see if it would recommend further changes to the law.
The setting up of an Inspectorate of Social Services has already been announced by the Department of Health, and this intention was reiterated by the Minister.
The Disability Federation of Ireland yesterday appealed for an inspectorate into services for the mentally and physically handicapped to be set up also.
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said the "ineffective practice" in Kelly Fitzgerald would not be atypical in many cases in all health board areas. It called for clear statements from the Minister and the chief executive officer of the Western Health Board that the practice and system failed in her case, and that this would be unacceptable in the future.
The primary section of the National Parents' Council has called for the mandatory reporting of child abuse. However, it added, this was not enough "Training and staffing of the gardai and the health boards are essential, as is a clear system of accountability. The provision of high quality and timely counselling services is a high priority."