asked the Minister for Health the number of children at present regarded by each of the health boards as being at risk from non-accidental injury inflicted by parents; and the criteria health boards use for determining whether they should have such children taken into care.

In general, health boards do not keep lists of children termed as "children at risk". However, lists are maintained of children suspected of having had non-accidental injury inflicted on them by parents and as such they are children who are, of course, subject to the risk of further injury.

The number of such children for each health board is: Eastern Health Board 105; Midland Health Board, 47; Mid-Western Health Board, 32; North-Eastern Health Board, 20; North-Western Health Board, 8; South-Eastern Health Board, 88; Southern Health Board, 40; Western Health Board, 71.

In determining whether a child at risk of non-accidental injury should be taken into care health boards act on the recommendations of the professional workers involved in the particular case. In such cases, child and family are kept under constant observation by members of the community care team and receive appropriate help and advice. The decision to take the child into care is generally taken when the board, on the recommendation of the professional workers involved, consider that the child cannot, with safety, be maintained at home.

The Minister I am sure will correct me if I am wrong but did he make the extraordinary statement that children who are simply at risk are not maintained on such a register unless they have already been battered on at least one occasion? Could the Minister clarify the first part of his reply if that is what he meant?

Perhaps I should read again what I said so that the Deputy can absorb very carefully what I said and be clear about what my reply was. I did not say what the Deputy suggested and neither did anybody else suggest that. The problem about keeping a total list of children at risk is knowing which children will be at risk. Obviously, the health boards will have suspicion of cases where non-accidental injury has been inflicted. Obviously other children in families associated with an incident like that or where there are other incidents of violence will be included on this list. It is really a question of how to determine when a child is at risk.

The Minister is saying that it is not necessary for a child to be battered and beaten on at least one occasion before the child appears on the list. I would not want any confusion to arise out of that. Is that what the Minister is saying?

Yes, of course. I went on to elaborate that where cases occur of children having received non-accidental injuries, other children in the families concerned would come on to the list then.