I congratulate the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on the successful passing of the referendum. I ask the Taoiseach about the progress on the child and family support agency Bill which will establish the agency for the delivery of child welfare and protection services. It is imperative that the agency is established and that funding is available from the HSE.

I thank Deputy Heydon for his comment and support for the referendum.

The heads of the child and family support agency Bill were cleared by the Government last week. I expect it will be published before Christmas and we will proceed to implementing it as quickly as possible thereafter.

Like Deputy Heydon, I welcome the result of the referendum at the weekend. I believed it was envisaged that the agency would be up and running from the beginning of January. Does the relevant legislation, the heads of which will not be published until the period before Christmas, not need to be enacted to have it up and running in January? Will the Government continue to prioritise this?

The heads of the Children First Bill have been published for six or seven months. When will this legislation come before the Oireachtas? Bearing in mind the passage of the referendum, when does the Taoiseach hope to bring legislation on adoption and the best interests and voice of the child before the Oireachtas?

The adoption Bill was published in tandem with the referendum Bill. It is a case of finding time in the calendar year to debate it. The Children First Bill will be taken very early in the new year. The Attorney General and her staff are working exceptionally hard on the child and family support agency Bill and we expect to process it very quickly. Obviously, we have set out a timeline for this and I hope we can adhere to it.