Legislation to establish a new child and family support agency was promised before Christmas, but that did not happen. It was then promised for this term, but it has not yet been published. We were also promised that the Children First legislation would be published in this term, but that has not happened. The development of an independent review mechanism on foot of the child death report was promised in September last year, but that has not happened. Will the Tánaiste explain the delay in the introduction of such critical legislation by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs?

The child and family support agency Bill is under discussion in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General. Some issues are still outstanding. It is expected that the Bill will be published in the next session.